Well connected: OGDC facilitates two firms in illegal sale of gas

Allows transporting and selling gas without Ogra licence, Explosive Dpt clearance.

ISLAMABAD:

The Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC) is facilitating two Islamabad-based firms Mehr Gas (Pvt) Limited and E Gas (Pvt) Limited in illegal sale and transportation of gas to selective CNG stations and industrial consumers, Express Investigation Cell (EIC) found.

The sale and transportation of gas without proper arrangements and security measures is a highly risky business.

It poses great threat to the lives of the people as unsafe transportation of gas can result in an untoward incident.

Sources told Express Investigation Cell (EIC) that the concerned government departments like Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) and Explosive Department which were required to take notice against these two private firms, preferred to be a party to this illegal and unsafe business for reasons better known to their officials.

The OGDC role is even more objectionable as it signed an agreement with both firms to allow them to set up compression plant at its two fields and transport gas without making sure that they get marketing licence from Ogra and certification from Explosive Department for safe transportation and sale of gas to the consumers.

As per the safety rules, both of these gas companies were required to get marketing licence from Ogra and a certification of bowsers from Explosive Department for safe transportation of gas.

Since both Mehr Gas and E Gas are well linked with the ruling elite, they did not bother to complete legal formalities to become a responsible business concern.

Rather, they bypassed all requirements and started illegal business of selling gas to the consumers without any marketing licence.

Islamabad- based E Gas was the first to enter into an agreement with OGDC in 2011, for buying of low pressure gas from its Rajian field some 35 kg in east-south of Islamabad.

Political connections

An active parliamentarian of Pakistan Muslim League-Q played an active role in securing contract from OGDC for E Gas .

Soon after securing the contract, E Gas established its gas compression plant at the field site to compress low pressure gas and transport it to the consumers.

E Gas owns a CNG station in F 7 sector of Islamabad and it sells major chunk of gas at its own CNG. Gung Glass, an industrial unit in Hattar is among its consumers.

E Gas owned CNG station in Rawat, is the only one which is running on transported gas as it does not have a SNGPL gas connection.

Seeing E Gas successful model of making undue profit in gas business, Mehr Gas jumped into the game. Its owners used the most powerful lady of the ruling party in securing contract for buying low pressure gas from Kummer Pasaki gas field, some 25 km from Hyderabad in Sindh.

Mehr Gas also did not follow any rule of business and directly opted to establish a compression plant at the field to get compressed gas to transport to its consumers, mostly CNG stations in Hyderabad and Karachi some of them hailing from the ruling party.

Stakeholders hurt

Sale of gas to Mehr Gas and E Gas companies irked CNG Association also. Its chief Giayas Paracha says “Sale of gas from OGDC to two companies directly makes no sense and we have expressed our serious reservations over it at every forum including Ogra and Ministry of Petroleum.”

License in pipeline

When contacted Kashif Mahmood, a Mehr Gas director, said his company has submitted an application with Ogra for issuing of a licence.

He said his company is utilising low pressure gas to make it useful and provide the country some additional gas for consumption.

Ansar Raza of E Gas also had the same arguments. He claimed that Ogra had issued a marketing licence to his company.

The Ogra authorities, however, categorically denied that they ever issued any license to any private company including E Gas and Mehr Gas Company Limited to transport and market gas to sell to any consumers.

They say that sale of gas by Mehr Gas and E Gas was totally unauthorised and they can face action from Ogra for this illegal action.

“None of these two companies, Mehr Gas and E Gas, have been awarded marketing licence to sell gas from any OGDC field,” Ogra’s enforcement wing chief, Mohammad Yasin told EIC.

Explosive Department has also not certified bowsers of any of these two parties for transportation of gas from any field. However, its officials are not ready to take action to stop illegal transportation of gas from OGDC fields to bigger cities like Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad, Karachi and many more.

Chief of Explosive Department Hussain Channa when approached for his side of the story said, “The companies should bring their bowsers to my office to get certified.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2012.