“We need reputable people to head companies like the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) and Pakistan State Oil (PSO),” Dr Asim Hussain told South Punjab News after meeting the prime minister. “Candidates for the top posts at these companies will be selected from abroad.”
Dr Asim said billions of rupees of energy related inter-corporate circular debt had bogged down the entire fuel supply chain and threatened the economic progress. He said drastic measures were needed to be taken now as the energy crisis had blown out of proportion. “We need to inject fresh blood into these organisations. Independent boards of directors are important for pushing forward hard decisions.”
His comments mean that Managing Director PSO Irfan Qureshi, MD OGDCL Naeem Malik, MD PPL Khalid Rahman, MD Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) Rasheed Lone, MD Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) Faizullah Abbasi and MD Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) Ijaz Ali Khan stand to lose their jobs.
But Hussain said all these gentlemen would have the chance to apply for the posts again. “They can compete like all the other candidates. Let the appointments be made on merit.”
He acknowledged that all these officials were appointed by the PPP-led government but insisted that Prime Minister Gilani had taken the decision of changing the set-up. “When it comes to energy, we donít have human resource within our country.”
He said there will be pressure from every quarter to stop the move to revamp the managements but hoped the transformation will go through smoothly.
Hussain had resigned as the petroleum adviser in 2009, citing personal reasons. He left behind unfinished energy projects in his wake, most notably the Mashal LNG Import Terminal.
“I will make sure that work on the LNG import and the gas import pipelines from Iran and Turkmenistan move quickly,” he said.
The move to revamp the energy firms might not be limited to the oil and gas companies, Hussain said. “Prime Minister can also support similar changes in power distribution companies (of Wapda).”
