LNG deal quite transparent, insists Khaqan

Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said the LNG agreement with Qatar is being negotiated in a transparent manner and PPRA rules have been fully implemented.
"The agreement would be the best in Asia and no one would be able to raise a finger," Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said while commenting on a letter sent by Transparency International to the Prime Minister on Saturday expressing reservations over the deal.
The Minister said the Ministry has not yet received the letter and it would be given detailed consideration as and when received.
He said there is no truth in the allegations that PPRA rules have been violated. He said as always, agreements are reached on the basis of demand and supply. Similarly, some agreements are done on an emergency basis to meet urgent needs while others are long term.
Khaqan said the Ministry of Petroleum was ready to respond to every objection on the LNG agreement. He said letters have been written to heads of all political parties and he was ready to give them briefing on the LNG agreement.
He said the LNG agreement has been prepared in consultation with chairman of PPRA. He said so far an MoU has been signed with a Qatari company while four other agreements would also be signed as one company cannot meet the energy needs of Pakistan.
The Minister said Qatar is a trust-worthy country, very close to Pakistan and LNG can reach Karachi from Qatar in two days and that is why preference has been given to this Gulf state.
He said Pakistan is doing a better LNG deal as compared to other countries in Asia but pointed out that final price has not yet been agreed.
Giving example of India''s contract, he said India has been importing the commodity for the last 12 years and rate of every contract is different.
He said some contracts in India have been as high as $13. He said India, China, South Korea and Japan have been importing LNG in Asia and was confident that Pakistan''s deal would better than those of these countries.
Khaqan said the import of LNG would help a lot in overcoming the energy crisis.
To another question, he said the formation of Board of Director of PSO would be completed in the next three weeks. He said now all decisions would be made on merit.
It is worth mentioning that Transparency International had expressed its reservations over $22 billion dollar agreement with Qatar company and termed it a violation of PPRA rules.