PSO MD likely to meet Shaikh tomorrow

Meeting to discuss inter-corporate debt issue.

KARACHI: Pakistan State Oil (PSO) Managing Director Irfan Qureshi is expected to meet Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on Monday to hammer out a solution to the growing inter-corporate debt issue, a PSO official said on Saturday.

The meeting is being held in the wake of directives by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani to Finance Minister Hafeez Shaikh, to meet with the PSO management and resolve the issue. Gilani gave the order in a meeting with Qureshi on Friday.

PSO says its receivables from power companies have soared to Rs159 billion, compelling the largest oil marketing distributor to stop supplies on credit to some companies. On February 17, PSO stopped furnace oil supply to the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda), Hub Power Company (Hubco) and Kot Addu Power Company (Kapco). However, it was forced to resume oil supply to Wapda later in the day on intervention of water and power ministry.

“We have received no payments so far and oil supply to Hubco and Kapco remains suspended. Payment commitments, if any, will be known on Monday,” said the official, adding that PSO was facing difficulties in making payments to international suppliers of furnace oil owing to this cash crunch.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2011.