Petroleum Policy 2012: CCI seeks new deal with gas explorers

ISLAMABAD:

The Council of Common Interest (CCI) on Wednesday approved amendment in Petroleum Policy 2012 in a bid to save the consumers from billions of dollars of additional burden which gas exploration firms would have pocketed.

Petroleum Policy 2012 is the first among all other policies of the previous government which PML-N government has amended.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government had granted price of $6.60 per Million British Thermal Unit (MMBTU) to gas exploration companies which were supposed to get $3.26 to $ 5 per MMBTU.

The ministry of petroleum informed CCI that while giving effect to various provisions of the policy, especially conversion of previous fiscal regimes given under Petroleum Concessions Agreements (PCAs) into new policy and incentivising for additional production from existing fields, some difficulties had arisen with respect to its spirit, applicability, transparency and predictability.

The petroleum ministry said that each policy required that conversion process would be subject to implementation of Supplemental Agreements (SPAs) within six months from the date of exercise of conversion option.

Petroleum ministry has proposed CCI to remove the condition of six months.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 1^st, 2013.