Sindh Government Opposes Sale of Local Gas to Private Companies

Islamabad: The Sindh government strongly opposed the sale of 35% of local gas to private companies during the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) meeting. This proposed framework, if approved, would impose a financial burden of approximately 243 billion rupees on domestic consumers over the next five years. This is due to the anticipated need to use expensive imported gas to meet the shortfall in supply.
The Petroleum Division had sought the approval of the framework from ECNEC, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar. However, Sindh raised strong objections to the proposal during the meeting. It is worth noting that earlier this year, in January 2024, the Council of Common Interests (CCI) had allowed gas exploration and production companies to sell 35% of their production to third parties, provided that the national demand is met first and the decision is approved by ECNEC.
According to government sources, Sindh’s representative opposed the summary and argued that it should not have been presented at the meeting without prior consultation with other stakeholders, including the provinces, Ministry of Finance, Planning, Law Ministry, OGRA, and FBR. The representative also pointed out that the summary had not been discussed or agreed upon by all parties involved.
Furthermore, the representative from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) could not attend the meeting due to lockdown restrictions, and there were issues with internet connectivity. Sindh’s representative emphasized that the provincial government had already requested a review of the CCI’s January 2024 decision, made during the caretaker government’s tenure.
In response, the chairman of the meeting attempted to convince Sindh’s representative that the session was merely to approve the framework, but the Sindh representative remained firm in their stance and requested more time for consultations with the provincial government.
After the meeting, the ECNEC issued a press release, but it did not mention any discussions or decisions on the matter. It is noteworthy that to resolve the disagreement over the CCI’s decision, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has set up a committee led by Ishaq Dar, which includes representatives from two companies benefiting from the CCI’s decision.
The committee’s efforts are focused on resolving the concerns raised by Sindh, which believes that the move would unfairly benefit private companies at the expense of domestic consumers. According to Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited, if the decision is implemented, it would result in an additional financial burden of 243 billion rupees on domestic consumers from 2023 to 2025. The company further warned that this burden could increase to 45 billion rupees annually from 2025 to 2030, with the total financial impact reaching 243 billion rupees by 2030.