Former Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin has accused the Ministry of Petroleum of shady deal of LNG under ''LNG Mashal Project'' by keeping the Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet in the dark about the bid of Vitol/Fauji Foundation. "I am ready to appear before any forum, even Supreme Court, over the fraud of Petroleum Ministry regarding the LNG deal," he said.
While talking to media persons after appearing before National Assembly standing committee on petroleum and natural resources here on Tuesday. He said that the Petroleum Ministry had even failed to present the actual situation of LNG deal before the NA body.
According to sources, the former Finance Minister informed NA body that Petroleum Ministry had not presented the joint proposal of Vitol/Fauji Foundation before the ECC, which had raised doubts about the fairness of the LNG contract. "Petroleum Ministry should have presented all proposals pertaining to LNG deal before the ECC which had helped to take transparent decision of contract," Tarin added. Sources said that NA body also snubbed Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Naveed Qamar who failed to present the brief on the LNG deal before the NA committee.
"Don''t take this committee like other NA bodies," NA body Chairman Waqas Akram said, adding that "it is an investigative committee which is probing the LNG scam threadbare". The committee directed the concerned authorities to submit a brief on LNG deal before the committee so as to take the probe to its logical end. Sources said that the NA body will meet again on Wednesday to further deliberate on the LNG deal.
The NA body has started proceedings after the Speaker of National Assembly had referred the matter to it, and was given seven days to complete the probe and submit its report to the National Assembly after going through the official record of the deal.
The reported scandal surfaced after Managing Director of Fauji Foundation approached former Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin and alleged that their joint proposal with Vitol was not entertained despite being the lowest bid in terms of rates. The Ministry of Petroleum is of the view that Vitol/Fauji Foundation proposal came very late and their proposal was restricted to supply LNG for a period of five years.