Although the Pakistan Peoples Party-led government has completed its tenure, it has left unresolved a controversy in the energy sector that can cost the public purse billions of rupees. Now, the upcoming short-lived caretaker setup will have to deal with the issue, which may lead to a fall in gas production.
According to sources, soon after the approval of the Petroleum Policy 2012, two exploration companies sought higher prices for increasing production from existing fields, which sparked a controversy. One company was producing 13 million cubic feet of gas per day (mmcfd) against a commitment of 3.5 mmcfd in the development plan.This company asked the government to pay arrears of $1.7 billion in accordance with the clause of 10% increase in gas production in the new policy since the time it increased the output,” a source said.