Adnan Aamir
Quetta: Cabinet of Balochistan government approved extension of lease of Gas fields in Sui to Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) for a period of ten years on Thursday. Formal agreement was signed on Friday between Government of Balochistan and PPL.
Under the new agreement, Balochistan will get Rs. 74 billion as royalty from PPL in next 10 years starting from June 2015. PPL would also be obliged to spend Rs 20 billion for exploration of new reservoirs of oil and natural gas.
Agreement states that PPL would continue supply of free of cost natural gas to Sui Town, provision of jobs to local people at Sui Gas Field and facilities in connection with health, education and others.
Balochistan Voices took the comments of people from different walks of society on the issue of extension of lease agreement with PPL.
Senator Saifullah Magsi
Same coalition headed by Dr. Malik had only given an extension for a year and now it has given it for 10 years. In a parliamentary democracy, it would have been good if this agreement would have been put forward in the assembly, so that public representatives could take the people in to confidence over their government’s decisions. However, it is unfortunate that things are not done with transparency and that is why the public starts to lose confidence in their governments and the system generally.
Why the two coalition partners NP and PkMAP, who had said that they would revisit and renegotiate past agreements with the federal government, have been silent on this issue. Now they have extended the lease for 1 year and their representatives were present at the signing ceremony in Islamabad.
Zubeda Jalal – Former Federal Minister
It’s good to see that PPL has been given a bigger role to implement a substantive amount on the social sectors of Sui but who is going to keep track. I hope it won’t go into royalty for one family only.
I would say it’s good that the government has extended its agreement but the people of Balochistan would like the government to make a tracking mechanism where the government and the people of Dera Bugti do benefit to its utmost which is their right.
Sanaullah Baloch – Former Senator
The current agreement is against international norms and rules of transparency. There was no bidding and competitive process to lease such a profitable venture to highest bidder. In addition, this is a dark day in Balochistan’s history that deal was not presented in the Balochistan Assembly; agreement is not available for independent analysis and scrutiny by CSOs, Media and experts.
The provincial government is totally paralyzed when it comes to monitoring of Gas production and pumping in the overall system. PPL is not only looting Balochistan by giving low well head price but massively cheating the system by denying role to the independent or third party monitors to monitor the actual amount of gas that is produced and supplied because that determines the total profit.
Zahoor Buledi – Former MPA
Provincial government did not fulfill the constitutional needs of article 172 (3) where the government of Balochistan is 50% shareholder of mineral resources. It has been reported that PPL extended its agreement without bringing into the notice of provincial government after expiry of agreement on 30th may 2015. On the other side it is the apathy of provincial government to not implement the 18th amendment wholeheartedly. Provincial government could have got much more than what it is getting now PPL.
Revenue generated and Tax paid by PPL, SSGC, SNGPL and OGDCL is never accounted for in the Balochistan’s favor because their headquarters are not situated in Balochistan – Tahir Munir Minhas
Jan Achakzai – Senior Analyst
The contract of PPL Lease extension has underscored good negotiating strategy of Nawab Sanaullah Zehri Government. Quetta has persuaded Islamabad to improvise rates and as a result PPL will pay two times more than what it used to pay before this agreement. Now it is also the time that provincial government operationalizes Rekodiq Project by awarding the contract to international contractors so that the people of Balochistan can start reaping the benefits as soon as possible.
Tahir Munir Minhas – Retired Bureaucrat
None of the energy extraction and supply companies have their headquarters in Balochistan. Therefore the Revenue generated and Tax paid by PPL, SSGC, SNGPL and OGDCL is never accounted for in the Balochistan’s favor. Since the new agreement has not been made public, therefore, it cannot be ascertained whether the demands of Balochistan have been addressed or not. Since PPL is the oldest owner of this field therefore it may continue to own this area.
Tania Baloch – Editor-in-chief Balochistan Inside
Conflict between Nawab Akbar Bugti and PPL always reminds of the Balochistan conflict. According to International law, Local people have the first right on natural resources discovered from their area. Incumbent CM has also reiterated this fact in his speeches again and again. Sui Gas has benefitted people from Islamabad to Karachi but people of Balochistan have not fully benefited from it till now. Gas supply is available in Narowal, home town of Ahsan Iqbal, which is situated near Indian border but not in most districts of Balochistan.
Extending lease contract with PPL tantamount to handing over Balochistan to another East India Company – Tania Baloch
There has always been a question mark on the performance and extravagant spending of PPL. Whether it’s the luxury offices, chartered planes or estate houses, PPL is a fully profitable company and Balochistan government is always dependent on the aid of federal government.
PPL has not done anything significant in terms of CSR in last decades. In such circumstances, extending lease contract with PPL tantamount to handing over Balochistan to another East India Company. Such companies are always profitable like PPL which has total assets of Rs. 191 billion which is greater than non-development expenditure of province.
Sami Zarkoon – Convener Civil Society Balochistan
Issue of PPL should have been discussed in assembly but current government ignored it. Minerals are property of public of Balochistan and voice of public has been ignored in whole process. What is the status of past recovery of amounts due from PPL? Does Provincial government have any data about CSR activities of PPL in Balochistan? Why free gas supply is provided only to Sui town, why not for entire Dera Bugti District? Agreement signed between Balochistan governemnt and PPL must be made public.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article are those of the commentators and Balochistan Voices not necessarily agrees with them.
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