Sindh seeks oil and gas field transfers from Centre
After Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh is also seeking transfer of all its oil and gas fields from the federal government.
ISLAMABAD:
After Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), Sindh is also seeking transfer of all its oil and gas fields from the federal government, as provided under the 18th constitutional amendment, a reliable source said.
The provincial finance secretary has recently sent a letter to the federal ministry of petroleum and natural resources to this effect.
Under Clause 3 of Article 172 of the amended constitution, Sindh has the right of ownership to all oil and gas being produced by the province, therefore all of its oil and gas fields should be transferred to the provincial government, the letter said.
According to statistics, Sindh is the largest producer of oil and gas in the country with 71 per cent of gas and 56 per cent of oil.
Ejaz Chaudhry, additional secretary at the ministry of petroleum and natural resources, confirmed to The Express Tribune that he had received the letter on the issue from Sindh’s finance secretary.
‘’In reply to its demands, we have told the Sindh government that modalities for the implementation of 18th amendment are being sorted out by the ministry,” Chaudhry said. “It will be implemented as soon as the modalities are finalised.”
Referring to Clause 3 of Article 172, Chaudhry said, “Subject to the existing commitments and obligations, mineral oil and natural gas within a province or the territorial waters adjacent thereto shall vest jointly and equally in that province and the federal government.”
According to the federal ministry, the interpretation of Clause 3 by the Sindh government is not correct as there is no mention of “transfer” in the said clause.
The K-P government is also demanding transfer of its oil and gas fields from the Centre. It argues that under Clause 3 it’s obligatory for the ministry of petroleum and natural resources to transfer all oil and gas fields located in the K-P to the provincial government. The ministry’s understanding of Clause 3 is not acceptable to the K-P government. Therefore, it has taken the matter to the Council of Common Interests (CCI) scheduled to meet after a few weeks.
The K-P is also demanding that the revenues being generated by the federal government from oil and gas produced in the province be shared on an equal basis. The petroleum ministry is not ready to accept this demand and has argued that the issue has already been settled in Clause 3.
According to the ministry, the revenues being generated under the previous agreements (signed between the ministry and oil companies before the passage of 18th amendment) were not subject to sharing with the provinces. However, the ministry has guaranteed that the federal government would share with the K-P and other provinces revenues to be generated from new oil and gas discoveries in the provinces on an equal basis.
The ministry plans establishment of a petroleum concessions and management authority through an act of parliament. According to the draft of the proposed bill, all provinces will be represented on the authority.
The body, to be headed by the ministry’s director-general of petroleum concessions, will award oil and gas exploration licences to companies in consultation with provincial representatives. The ministry is in consultation with the oil and gas producing provinces over the draft of the proposed bill.
The draft has already been rejected by the province. “The draft, in its present form, is not acceptable to us,” K-P’s constitutional adviser had recently said.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 24th, 2010.
After Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), Sindh is also seeking transfer of all its oil and gas fields from the federal government, as provided under the 18th constitutional amendment, a reliable source said.
The provincial finance secretary has recently sent a letter to the federal ministry of petroleum and natural resources to this effect.
Under Clause 3 of Article 172 of the amended constitution, Sindh has the right of ownership to all oil and gas being produced by the province, therefore all of its oil and gas fields should be transferred to the provincial government, the letter said.
According to statistics, Sindh is the largest producer of oil and gas in the country with 71 per cent of gas and 56 per cent of oil.
Ejaz Chaudhry, additional secretary at the ministry of petroleum and natural resources, confirmed to The Express Tribune that he had received the letter on the issue from Sindh’s finance secretary.
‘’In reply to its demands, we have told the Sindh government that modalities for the implementation of 18th amendment are being sorted out by the ministry,” Chaudhry said. “It will be implemented as soon as the modalities are finalised.”
Referring to Clause 3 of Article 172, Chaudhry said, “Subject to the existing commitments and obligations, mineral oil and natural gas within a province or the territorial waters adjacent thereto shall vest jointly and equally in that province and the federal government.”
According to the federal ministry, the interpretation of Clause 3 by the Sindh government is not correct as there is no mention of “transfer” in the said clause.
The K-P government is also demanding transfer of its oil and gas fields from the Centre. It argues that under Clause 3 it’s obligatory for the ministry of petroleum and natural resources to transfer all oil and gas fields located in the K-P to the provincial government. The ministry’s understanding of Clause 3 is not acceptable to the K-P government. Therefore, it has taken the matter to the Council of Common Interests (CCI) scheduled to meet after a few weeks.
The K-P is also demanding that the revenues being generated by the federal government from oil and gas produced in the province be shared on an equal basis. The petroleum ministry is not ready to accept this demand and has argued that the issue has already been settled in Clause 3.
According to the ministry, the revenues being generated under the previous agreements (signed between the ministry and oil companies before the passage of 18th amendment) were not subject to sharing with the provinces. However, the ministry has guaranteed that the federal government would share with the K-P and other provinces revenues to be generated from new oil and gas discoveries in the provinces on an equal basis.
The ministry plans establishment of a petroleum concessions and management authority through an act of parliament. According to the draft of the proposed bill, all provinces will be represented on the authority.
The body, to be headed by the ministry’s director-general of petroleum concessions, will award oil and gas exploration licences to companies in consultation with provincial representatives. The ministry is in consultation with the oil and gas producing provinces over the draft of the proposed bill.
The draft has already been rejected by the province. “The draft, in its present form, is not acceptable to us,” K-P’s constitutional adviser had recently said.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 24th, 2010.