Legal obligation: Hire locals, Senate body tells E&P firms

Committee expresses dismay over E&P’s failure to recruit 80% of unskilled workers from areas where gas & oil produced.

ISLAMABAD: The sub-committee of Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources on Wednesday directed the oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) companies to meet legal obligation of providing 80% of the jobs to local people. The committee which met with Senator Abdul Nabi Bangash in the chair expressed dismay over the E&P’s companies’ failure to recruit 80% of unskilled workers from the areas where gas and oil was produced. The convenor of the committee observed that the companies were providing only 25 to 30% jobs to locals, which was discrimination and violation of moral obligation, as well. He said it was not justifiable that Punjab which was producing only 4% of the gas, had around 75% of jobs in oil and gas companies, directing the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited, Pakistan Petroleum Limited and MOL to provide complete detail regarding employees of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, especially from the Kohat, Hangu and Karak districts.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19^th, 2014.