Sanghar denied oil, gas production bonus

Sanghar district, one of the largest producers of oil and gas in the country, has not been paid the production bonus since 2013.

The revelation was made at a meeting chaired by National Assembly Petroleum Social Development Committee Chairperson MNA Shazia Atta Marri in Sanghar on Monday.

The chairperson, who is also elected from a constituency in Sanghar to the National Assembly, expressed her dismay over the companies involved in this business.

The officials of the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), United Energy Pakistan (UEP), district administration, health, education and other departments attended the meeting. "The production bonus is a trust of the people and it must be utilised for their benefit."

An official who attended the meeting told The Express Tribune that Marri was upset over the officials and the companies for not only failing to pay the bonus but for also not even calculating how much bonus per year Sanghar was supposed to be paid.

The officials did not share the statistics of per day or per year oil and gas production from the district on whose basis the production bonus has to be decided.

"The chairperson told the companies to pay the bonus since 2013 and that too after calculating the inflation and enhancing the bonus accordingly," the official, who requested anonymity, said. Interestingly, Sanghar Deputy Commissioner Dr Imranul Hassan Khuwaja was also present in the meeting but even he could not inform the chairperson about the statistics of oil and gas production.

Marri emphasised that the funds from oil and gas royalties should be utilised for public welfare, including education, healthcare and other developmental projects. The meeting was also briefed about the Supreme Court 2021 order which had directed the government to spend funds from the royalties on education, health, sports and public parks instead of over the road and other infrastructure projects for which the federal and provincial governments already allocate funds from the budgets.

The MNA asked the DC that being an executive authority of all the projects funded by the royalties he should prefer involving private contractors for the development projects instead of the government departments like works and services and education works.

She suggested that the officials from the concerned government departments should be kept on board for the supervision tasks while private contractors should be allowed to undertake the projects related to construction or supplies.

She underscored that movement of heavy transport vehicles due to oil and gas exploration and transport has caused significant damage to the roads which required urgent repairs. "Sanghar contributes significantly to the country's oil and gas reserves [production]. It is the right of its people to see the royalties spent on their development and welfare," she said.

The chairperson said the ongoing development projects funded from the royalty should be completed. She added that her committee will also assess the district's needs for the developmental works. A follow up meeting with the same officials is tentatively scheduled for the end of January, 2025. The officials have been asked to come prepared with all required data about oil and gas production as well as the calculated bonus since 2013 at the next meeting.