POL raises objections to gas sale deal from Razgir field without competitive bidding
Hungarian operator entering into agreement with private firm for sale of 35MMCf of gas from Razgir field
Pakistan Oilfields Limited (POL) has raised objections to a potential gas sale deal without a competitive bidding process between a Hungarian gas company and a privately-owned firm from Razgir field in Kohat that has 65% ownership of the state-owned entities (SOEs).
These objections were raised in a letter sent to the Petroleum Division and other companies in the joint venture by the POL, which is a 25% shareholder in the Kohat gas field.
In its letter, the Rawalpindi-based POL stated that the Hungarian company, which has 10% shares in the aforementioned gas field, could not unilaterally enter into a gas sale deal without going through competitive bidding, otherwise, it lacks transparency in the transaction process, sources told Geo News.
They added that the foreign firm is the operator of the gas field while its joint venture partners include POL, Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDCL), Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (PPL), and Government Holdings (Pvt) Ltd (GHPL).
It was learnt that the operator was entering into an agreement for the sale of daily 35 million cubic feet of gas to a privately owned gas firm which aggrieved one of the JV partners — POL — a subsidiary of a UK-domiciled oil company.
It also emerged that the Hungarian company was already selling 14 million cubic feet of gas to the same private firm from its Mamikhel field under an agreement without fulfilling the due bidding process.
The private firm was acquiring gas for its private clients in Punjab for which it uses the distribution network of the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL).
“Signing an agreement solely with a company would also violate the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) regulations,” said experts who keep a close eye on gas-related agreements in the country.
They also demanded a probe into previous agreements signed between the Hungarian and the private gas firms.
They added that the Hungarian firm has no freedom to enter into agreements with a single firm to sale resources from the government-partnered Razgir gas field despite being an operator. “Such agreements would lack a legal status without a bidding process,” the experts said.
