Oil & gas exploration, production companies: body formed to implement government's hiring policy

Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum has constituted a subcommittee to implement the government's hiring policy for oil and gas exploration and production companies. The members of the subcommittee will visit eight oil and gas exploration blocks and analyze the employment situation there.
The committee also considered matter of non-installation of RP plants by the companies involved in exploration of oil and gas in district Sanghar, Sindh. The committee sought details from deputy commissioner Sangher (Sindh) for installation of RO plants. The committee further sought details of tenders being floated for installation of reverse osmosis (RO) plants and funds spent so far. Senator Mohsin Aziz chaired the meeting of the standing committee.
The secretary petroleum said that the local administration did not bother to spend funds collected by the oil and gas companies under DC head. He further said that funds were collected under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) but have not been utilized for the uplift of local communities.
The committee was informed that letters were written to all chief secretaries who will ensure that funds would be spent under CSR. The committee sought details of unspent funds of CSR from the whole country within two weeks. The committee directed oil and gas exploration companies to install 10 RO plants.
The deputy managing director, Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), informed that committee that the company spends Rs 1 billion annually on CSR activities in exploration sites. Senator Jahanzeb Jamaldini said that CPEC did not improve the living standard of coastal areas as the people living in coastal area are facing acute shortage of drinking water. He maintained that oil and gas exploration companies should give employment to natives on priority basis.
The managing director Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDCL) briefed the committee members regarding exploration activities of the company in oil and gas sector. He informed the committee that the company has 48 exploratory blocks. The company is drilling at 15 blocks. The company owns 47 oil fields in whole country and out of them 15 are in Punjab, three in KP, 26 in Sindh and three in Balochistan. Senator Shamim Afridi argued before the committee that the rate of gas in Punjab is higher than the prices in KP.