The Pakistani Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has awarded a licence to Frontier Oil Company (FOC) for laying an oil pipeline from Machike, Sheikhpura, to Taru Jabba, Nowshera, without the cabinet’s consent.
Granting of the licence is said to be in violation of the decision approved by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) during a meeting that was held in April.
The ECC’s decision made it mandatory for every proposed oil pipeline project to be forwarded to the federal cabinet for approval, Express Tribune reported.
Violating this decision, the authority granted the licence to FOC for the pipeline project.
The pipeline will be laid on the same route where Inter-State Gas Systems (ISGS) plans to construct it following approval from the federal government.
In its meeting held last November, the ECC approved the Machike-Taru Jabba Oil Pipeline Project (MTOPP) to be developed by ISGS.
Ogra held a public hearing where the state-owned company ISGS appeared as the aggrieved party.
At the time of the hearing, FWO said that the estimated cost to lay the proposed pipeline from Machike to Taru Jabba will be $370m.
Opposing this, a government official said that the pipeline was approved by ECC at a cost of $280m, which is $90m less than FWO’s projection.
ISGS officials voiced reservations over the awarding of the licence to FOC and argued that the Ogra registrar had not followed legal procedures.
The MTOPP project will be capable of transporting High-Speed Diesel (HSD) and Motor Spirit (MS) products from Machike to Taru Jabba through the Chakpirana and Sihala depots.
