Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani casts tiebreaking vote in favour of the bill
ISLAMABAD
The Senate on Thursday approved the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2022, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022 and the Allied Health Professionals Council Bill, 2022. Moreover, the long-awaited legislation to implement the weighted average cost of gas (WACOG) has been approved by the Senate despite the strong protest of opposition.
Speaking in the House, Ali Muhammad Khan said the both Ogra bills were unanimously passed by the standing committee after in-depth discussion by all members. He said the Council of Common Interests (CCI) had also already passed the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2022.
Responding to the concerns raised by the opposition, the minister ensured that the government would consider the amendments proposed by them.
Minister for Science and Technology Syed Shibli Faraz said the opposition should not distort the facts. The bills aim at empowering the regulatory authority. He assured that the amendments proposed by the opposition would be considered on merit.
Responding to the points of Leader of the Opposition Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, Leader of the House Shahzad Waseem said the government has brought the sales tax on petroleum products to zero and reduced the petroleum development levy in order to pass on to the people the minimum burden of unprecedented rise in the prices of petroleum products in the international market. He said the government has resultantly borne revenue loss of Rs35 billion.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani said the prices of petroleum products have gone beyond the reach of the people. He pointed out that increasing their prices further pushes up inflation. He said the opposition parties do not accept the recent increase in the prices of petroleum products.
Earlier, Minister for Housing and Works Chaudhary Tariq Bashir Cheema, told the house during question hour that all the recruitments in the Ministry of Housing and its attached departments have been made as per the rules and regulations and quota.
The house also passed a resolution recommending the government to take initiatives for empowerment of women and make them equal players in decision making related to climate change and sustainability. The resolution moved by Seemee Ezdi commended the efforts of women and girls leading efforts in climate change related matters to build a more sustainable future for all.
In connection with the 30th anniversary of the Khojaly incident in Azerbaijan, the Senate also passed a resolution urging the international community to bring peace in the region. The resolution moved by Kauda Babar once again congratulated Azerbaijan for getting its occupied territories liberated.
The statement of objects and Reasons of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2022 said that the purpose of the amendments was to ensure natural gas pricing on a regular basis. The OGRA through these amendments shall eliminate gaps between regular, semi-annual tariff determination and notification. Similarly, the statement of objects and reasons of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Second Amendment) Bill, said that the bill aimed at bringing entire Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Re-gasified Natural Gas (RLNG) licensing and price, under a regulatory framework.
This will also empower OGRA to determine and notify the RLNG sale price.
Energy Minister Hammad Azhar in a tweet said finally, the long-awaited legislation to implement the weighted average cost of gas (WACOG) has been approved by the Senate despite the strong protest of opposition. He said, “It is a historic and long-pending reform that will ensure the energy security of Pakistan. We are now able to embark upon the reform of the gas pricing structure, remove anomalies and enhance supplies of imported gas.”
This reform is as significant as the approval of the Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP) model for power purchase a couple of months ago. Both historic reforms in the power and petroleum sector have been carried out by the incumbent government in the last six months, he added.
WACOG is calculated as the total cost of all-natural gas purchased during a base period divided by either the total quantity purchased. This development will ensure gas availability at a reasonable rate as it will allow local gas and RLNG to be pooled in while determining the weighted average cost for gas. Owing to the said development, the export industry will experience a notable reduction on the cost front.
