The government has appointed Uzma Adil as chief of Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) who will take charge on July 18, it is learnt. After the appointment of chairperson, the quorum of the regulator is complete to review consumer gas prices and approve revenue requirements of two gas distribution companies. The quorum requires the Chairman and two out of three members' presence to be complete. The post of member oil Ogra however is still vacant, sources said.
According to reliable sources, former Managing Director (MD) Sui-Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) Uzma Adil was in the run for the position along with Ejaz Ahmad Chaudhary and Ogra Member Finance, Noor-ul-Haque. The Ogra Chairman slot fell vacant after the retirement of Saeed Khan in April this year. The government constituted a five-member committee for scrutiny of aspiring candidates, and the committee short listed the three names. "Around two dozen candidates applied before the deadline of February 4 for the coveted post on the quasi-judicial body including some closely related to or working with the government," the official added.
The regulatory body was without a chairperson since April 2016 after the retirement of Saeed Ahmad Khan and without a permanent Member Oil since 2014 after the retirement of Sabir Hussain, the former Member Oil. Sources said that for the appointment of Member Oil, the government completed the process in October 2015 but has not yet made any appointment. They further stated that for the post of Member Oil, Zain-ul-Abidin Qureshi, senior executive director Ogra is the front runner. Ogra has to take a number of necessary steps including approval of Final Revenue Requirements (FRPP) of Sui-Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) and Sui-Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) but in the absence of Member Oil and Chairman the Authority did not have the quorum to take these decisions.
The Chairman and Members are appointed by the federal government through a competitive process on tenure basis in accordance with the provisions of the Ogra Ordinance. Ogra consists of four members namely Chairman, Member Oil, Member Gas and Member Finance.