The company since its inception in 2013 did not discover a single block of natural resources in KP
FAQIR HUSSAIN
PESHAWAR
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Oil and Gas Company (KPOGCL), set up for exploration, production of oil, and gas, has not been able to discover a single block of natural resources even after eight years.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has opened inquiries regarding KPOGCL and the Auditor General has also questioned the overall performance of KPOGCL.
The KPOGCL, established by the provincial government in 2013, currently operates purely on an ad-hoc basis which has caused a management crisis in the company.
KP government has released a grant of Rs 1.9 billion for the company immediately after its inception and has recently approved a grant of Rs 40 billion for the company out of which the provincial government has so far released Rs 1.1 billion to the company.
The company has not appointed a permanent Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the past several months, sources said.
Moreover, no permanent appointments have been made to the posts of Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Internal Auditor and Secretary to the company.
According to sources, the auditor general in its recent audit report has also expressed reservations over the administrative and financial affairs of the company.
Sources further claimed that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is also conducting inquiries into the financial and administrative affairs of the company.
KPOGCL during the last eight years conducted exploration activities on a block located in Lakki Marwat. However, the block proved to be non-feasible for gas and oil explorations.
According to sources, due to the power struggle among the senior officers of the company, a number of senior officers and even former CEOs have been fired.
Sources said that recently five senior officers resigned from their posts owing to certain reasons.
When contacted, Nasir Khan, Acting CEO, KPOGCL, said that steps have been taken to steer the company in the right direction.
Mr Nasir also informed that a meeting of the new board of directors will be held in a few days in which appointments for a new CEO and other senior positions will be approved.
Acting CEO said that at national level 50 per cent oil, 12 per cent gas and 38 per cent LPG have been produced from the different regions of KP.
He said the company had invested 2.5% in 2014 through joint ventures with six different companies and 10-20% in 2020-22.
Moreover, exploration work for natural resources on the Miran block, located in Waziristan, will provide the company with ample sources of income, the acting CEO claimed.
