No decision about fate of heads of gas utilities

Fact-finding report submitted to petroleum secretary

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has not taken any decision yet about action against the managing directors of gas utilities allegedly responsible for the gas crisis.

Sources told The Express Tribune that Prime Minister Imran received a report on the gas crisis in a cabinet committee on energy meeting on Tuesday.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Imran asked about the fact-finding report on the crisis. The petroleum division secretary informed the prime minister that the report had been submitted.

Earlier, the petroleum division secretary had held the managing directors of gas utilities – Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC).

“The prime minister has not taken any decision so far about the heads of gas utilities,” Petroleum Division Spokesperson Sher Afgan told The Express Tribune. The committee ratified its earlier decision to impose a ban on the import of furnace oil.

A statement issued by the petroleum division said that the government had notified the immediate ban on the import of furnace oil, except for K-Electric, and directed the refineries to utilise billions of rupees worth of deemed duty, which they collect on the sale of petroleum products, for upgrading their plants.

The government also instructed the refineries to immediately reduce the production of furnace oil to the minimum level and sign commercial agreements with power producers for the utilisation of their furnace oil storage capacity.

“In future, all the refineries will ensure that the production of furnace oil is at the minimum as a byproduct of crude oil processing,” a notification said. The government also told refineries to undertake work on building additional storage facilities as well as utilise the proceeds of deemed duty for upgrading and modernising their plants.

Earlier, officials were surprised to learn that despite stocks of 200,000 tonnes, furnace oil was still being imported for consumption in power plants. On the other hand, furnace oil was not being lifted from local refineries, which were on the brink of shutting down.