The World Bank fully supports Pakistan government''s petroleum sector reforms and would continue to provide assistance in realising the full benefits of oil and gas sector liberalisation and reforms, a spokesman of the WB said here on Tuesday.
He said that the government of Pakistan has undertaken a deregulation and reform programme in the past seven years and the World Bank has been an active partner in this endeavour and upon government request, it has provided technical assistance and advisory support in liberalising the sector.
He said that these reforms have helped in achieving:
(a) An enhanced level of Exploration and Production activity, resulting in a number of new gas discoveries which enabled domestic gas production to increase by about 50 percent from about 2.4 to 3.6 billion cubic feet per day.
(b) A transparent Gas pricing framework - linking producer prices with consumer tariffs - has been implemented. This has enabled gas companies to plan and undertake investments to transmit the increased volume of gas to consumers.
(c) Petroleum downstream market has been deregulated, with fuel oil, diesel and LPG prices determined entirely by the market. For other products, prices were pegged to international prices and adjusted periodically. Due to the unprecedented hike in international oil prices, this process has been interrupted in recent months.
(d) Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has been established, which oversees the operation of the sector and arbiters the conflicting interests of different stakeholders (consumers, investors, government etc).
(e) Improved product specifications have been introduced in the market (lead-free petrol, low sulfur diesel, etc) and natural gas as cleaner fuel has replaced liquid fuels in the automotive and power generation sectors.
The spokesman said that there is still an unfinished agenda and reform measures in a number of areas are still pending. "The government has adopted a step-by-step approach towards the implementation of these measures so as to make these sustainable", he added.
He said that the World Bank (WB) would continue to provide assistance to realise the full benefits of oil and gas liberalisation and reforms programme.
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