ISLAMABAD - The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on Friday approved to allocate 10 mmcfd gas from Tolang Gas field to SNGPL, which would improve gas supply to all sectors including the power plants.
The ECC meeting, chaired by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, has also approved payment of salaries amounting to Rs380 million for the month of January 2017 to Pakistan Steel Mills employees on compassionate grounds. The ECC considered and approved the proposal of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources for allocation of 10 mmcfd gas from Tolang Gas field to SNGPL. The price of gas will be as per the applicable petroleum policy.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources had proposed that keeping in view the energy shortfall, gas production from the Tolang field had been proposed to be allocated to SNGPL, which would improve supply to all sectors including the power plants. Hungarian energy firm MOL has discovered gas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. MOL is expected to add 10 mmcfd gas from the Tolang field in Kohat district of KP in June this year.
The Ministry of Water and Power had suggested that gas being discovered by Hungarian energy firm MOL should be utilised to improve supplies to the power producers, especially the highly efficient gas-based power plants. However, the top economic decisions making body of the country approved summary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources.
Meanwhile, the ECC has also considered and approved the proposal from the Ministry of Finance for issuance of Letter of Comfort to National Bank of Pakistan or any other financial institution which will in turn issue Stand by Letter of Credit (SBLC) for the comfort of commercial lenders of the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway project.
The ECC also considered and approved a proposal of the Ministry of Commerce with respect to the PM’s Package of Incentives for Exporters. For export shipments until March 31, 2017 under the package, ECC approved extension in deadline for submission of claims from 90 days after shipment to 120 days after shipment. ECC also approved inclusion of certain finished leather projects in the DLTL order under the package.
The ECC considered a proposal of the Ministry of Petroleum regarding transportation of crude oil from Adhi Oil Field, and authorised the concerned company to deal with the transportation arrangement of crude oil from the field purely on open competition basis without any involvement of the government.