AHMAD AHMADANI
ISLAMABAD - National Assembly Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources is to take up much controversial administrative reshuffle in the OGDCL ostensibly without considering relevant experience, company’s law and its policy when it meets on February 1st.
The 39th meeting of the Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources is likely to grill the management of OGDCL over much controversial recent major reshuffle made by the serving top guns of the company in their desperate bid to benefit blue eyed officials that can better safeguard the interest of ‘influential lobby’. OGDCL management ostensibly striving hard to benefit the favourite ‘influential lobby’ through creating new lucrative slots for its favourites has apparently committed blatant violations of prescribed rules and regulations in this regard.
“Sheer violation of prescribed rules, regulations of OGDCL have been committed so far in this sudden adventure of creating all new lucrative slots in the company”, sources well aware of the matter said, adding it is height of non professionalism that non-technical and non-trained staff of the company will run the affairs of technical jobs. They were of the view that incumbent MD is also on acting charge so is authorised to appoint any one on the slot below EG-7 not on the General Manager level that requires OGDCL’s board approval. They told that all was done only to benefit the ‘influential mafia’.
Sources had earlier informed that influential lobby at the company is leaving no stone unturned to get declared the efficiently working two rigs named F-125 (Rumanian rig) and Russian rig named 307 (Russian ex-USSR) as out of order which are currently not only effectively working but are also capable to utilise them more five to ten years in the better interest of the company and the nation as well. Currently, the cost of one rig is approximately $20-30 million”, adding that in order to ensure benefit for the said lobby, incumbent management has introduced unique measures by replacing technical, trained crew with a non-technical team. Drilling Department of the company is the easy target of the influential lobby this time as those officials are appointed here who don’t have even one-day experience of the field job, sources opined.
It was also learnt that in a bid to purchase new rigs worth in multi-billion rupees from a blue eyed firm, high ups of the company making sheer mockery of merit and rule of law have recently assigned the responsibility of procurement of rigs to the newly created post of Acting General Manager (AGM) only to benefit the blue-eyed officials and the favourite firm as well. Ziaud Din (Manger Drilling Fluids), though does not have engineering degree, has also been benefited by appointing him on a newly created slot of AGM (Drilling Well Services) ostensibly to benefit the ‘influential lobby’.
Available official documents confirmed the bifurcation of drilling department with the approval of incumbent MD of the company on 27th December 2011 through a letter No.CE-347/2011 with a subject Bifurcation of Drilling Department. Resultantly, two new sections within Drilling Department named as Drilling Operations Department and Drilling Services Department have been created and Muhammad Iqbal Sheikh has been posted as AGM Drilling Operations while setting aside the experience of technical staff in drilling operation services.
Documents further revealed that M Siddiq Hassan Manager (Local Procurement) has been transferred to OGTI and Khalid Anis has been posted as Manger (Local Procurement), Ayaz-un-Nabi Manager (Logistics) has also been transferred to the post of Manager (Rig Maintenance) and Khalid Pervaiz Manager (Rig Maintenance) has been transferred to Drilling Operation Dept while Ismail Laghari Chief Engineer (Logistics) has been assigned the task of Acting Manager (Logistics).
According to the agenda of the meeting NA body is also taking up several inquiry reports regarding alleged embezzlements worth in multi-billions rupees in various head that includes inquiry report on unnecessary purchase of chemical worth Rs55.130m ($1.219m) and loss of Rs 5.630m on account of its sale below cost price and inquiry report on loss of Rs 10.108m due to negligence of M/S Enar Petrotech Services in execution of the Kunnar LPG Project. Further, inquiry report on hiring the services of a consultant in violation of Board’s decision Rs 280,000/- and inquiry report on appointment of 22 officers without observing the codal formalities Rs 65.132m. Inquiry report on loss due to procurement of defective man portable drill (shot hole) 30 meters worth Rs49.683 million (Euro 702,302) while inquiry report on irregular appointment of part time consultants with open ToR and payment of remuneration Rs 4.826m is also enlisted in agenda items of upcoming meeting of the NA Panel.
Besides this, the NA body is to take up the procedure of the payment to the workers, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Resources and Ministry of Labour & Manpower (now human resources development) and details of procedure for keeping the money in bank. The parliamentary panel will also take up what is the mode of disbursement of interest money amongst the claimants of 5 percent profit? Again, whether it is true that some officials of OGDCL kept the money in their own choice’s bank (year 2004-06) for getting personal benefit? And reason for removing present Chairman of the Workers Profit Fund during next meeting.