Change at the helm: PPL MD retires as govt fails to renew contract

Additional petroleum secretary takes charge as acting managing director.

KARACHI:

After a prolific career spanning over three decades, Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) Managing Director Asim Murtaza Khan retired on June 30.

His departure comes as a result of the government failing to renew his contract, officials said on Tuesday.

But this routine departure of just another executive in a state-run company has created unease in the country’s top petroleum explorer as the government ignored its decades-old tradition of promoting someone from within the company hierarchy to the top seat.

Instead, Additional Petroleum Secretary Arshad Mirza has been given the charge of PPL’s acting MD, which has a portfolio of 47 exploration blocks.

Khan took over as MD and Chief Executive Officer on May 12, 2011 after the removal of another career employee of PPL, Khalid Rehman.

It is interesting to note that the government has not publicly notified such a vital change in a publicly traded blue chip company. Despite repeated attempts, neither Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi nor Petroleum Secretary Abid Saeed were available for comments.

Khan graduated as mechanical engineer from NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi, and later earned his Masters in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Manchester, Institute of Science and Technology, United Kingdom.

He joined PPL in 1982 and has since served on senior positions, including general manager production, general manager projects for Mazarani field development, manager Sui gas field, senior manager field operations and chief drilling and production.

Unlike the other government-owned petroleum giant, Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC), PPL has not faced major controversies and its management affairs largely remain out of the news.

Former officials say successive governments have refrained from interfering in PPL affairs because of its continuing good performance, strong corporate culture and powerful CEOs.

But despite these qualities, PPL has experienced governance issues in recent months. It has been functioning without a chairman since Hidayatullah Peerzada resigned in March 2013. Lack of leadership has persisted as the present government did not appoint anyone as head of the board of directors.

Deputy Managing Director Moin Raza Khan has been dubbed the most fitting replacement of Asim Murtaza Khan since he is responsible for taking all the key decisions related to exploration and other operational matters.

The change in management has come at a time when PPL is investing heavily in exploration of multiple blocks in a bid to supplement gas supplies, which have been shrinking from its main fields such as Sui.

Khan’s team was responsible for making PPL the first company in Pakistan to seriously take up the case of exploring tight and shale gas reserves.

In nine months (July-March) 2013-14, PPL posted a profit of Rs38 billion, up 13.4% over the same period of previous year.

Additional Secretary Arshad Mirza, a bureaucrat by profession, who joined the District Management Group (DMG) in 1983, has been working with the Ministry of Petroleum since July 22, 2013.

He has also served as assistant commissioner Chakwal and Murree and additional deputy commissioner Jhelum, Gujranwala and Rawalpindi and deputy commissioner Jhelum.

Mirza was transferred to the federal government as joint secretary, Ministry of Finance and Revenue in May 2005.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 9^th, 2014.

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