OGDCL, PPL, PSO earned net profit of Rs173bn in FY20-21, Senate told

ISLAMABAD: Three public sector petroleum companies—Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) and Pakistan State Oil (PSO) earned a net profit of 173 billion rupees in financial year 2020-21 – and Pakistan’s overall existing storage capacity for petrol is 662,198 metric tonnes and that of diesel is 907,178 metric tonnes, federal government informed the Senate on Friday.

In FY 2020-21, OGDCL earned net profit of Rs91.53 billion, PPL earned Rs52.4 billion and PSO earned Rs29.14 billion, read a written reply from Petroleum State Minister Musadik Malik to a question posed by Danesh Kumar from Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) in the Senate sitting presided over by Deputy Chairman Senate Mirza Muhammad Afridi.

The BAP senator sought from the Petroleum Division the details of net profit earned by the public sector petroleum companies, operating in Pakistan, during FY 2020-21, during question hour in the Senate.

In reply to another question posed by Kumar regarding storage capacity of private and public sector petroleum companies in the country, the petroleum state minister said, the private and public sector companies’ existing capacity regarding petrol storage was 662,198 metric tonnes for petrol and 907,178 metric tonnes for diesel.

He added, as per prevailing policy of the federal government and licensing conditions of OGRA, every oil marketing company (OMC) is required to construct/ develop minimum storage of 20 days of its proposed sales, and to ensure to maintain the requisite stocks to meet its requirements across the country.

Accordingly, OMCs have added 343,774 tonnes of petrol and diesel storage during last three years in the country without any government funds, the minster’s reply stated.

In response to a question by Behramand Tangi from Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) regarding decrease in Chinese investment in Pakistan in the last two years, Investment Minister Salik Hussain admitted that Chinese investment in Pakistan decreased by 29.27 percent in FY 2021-22 and 2020-21 mainly due to Covid-19.

China’s foreign direct investment (FDI) in Pakistan was recorded $531.6 million in FY 2021-22, $751.6 million in FY 2020-21 and $846.6 million in FY 2019-20, he stated in written reply.

Regarding a question by Irfan Siddiqui from Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), Leader of the House in Senate Azam Tarar stated that former Justice Javed Iqbal was paid salary of over Rs74.50 million (over Rs1.3 million monthly) from October 11, 2017 to June 3, 2022 in his capacity as Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Meanwhile, Senate unanimously passed a resolution, moved by Tarar, to urge the international community to review its engagement with India in the wake of New Delhi’s disregard to international humanitarian laws and resolutions on Kashmir dispute.

Through the resolution, the house asked the government to expedite its diplomatic efforts to continue to highlight the Kashmir dispute at the United Nations Human Rights Council.

The resolution strongly rejected India’s “illegal and unilateral actions” of August 5, 2019, saying those were in direct violations of the UN Security Council resolutions and are aimed at changing the demographic structure of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu Kashmir (IIOJK), “suppressing the realisation of the inalienable right to self-determination of Kashmiris as well as violating their civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights”.

Condemning Indian atrocities including extra judicial killings and demolition of homes and private properties as a form of collective punishment in the occupied valley, the resolution deplored change in the status of Urdu language associated with Kashmiri Muslims and their identity.

It demanded resolution of Kashmir dispute in accordance with the aspirations of Kashmiri people and the UNSC resolutions.

The Senate has been prorogued.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022