ISLAMABAD - The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority is fully cognisant of larger public interest and is implementing law in letter and spirit to strike balance between stakeholders with consumer protection being a prime objective.
As an autonomous regulator of midstream and downstream oil and gas industry, Ogra functions strictly under the statute of law which is the Ogra Ordinance of 2002 and the subsequent rules and regulations.
According to a spokesperson of the Ogra, the authority has to take into account the interest of all the stakeholders within each regulated sector. Therefore, there is no question of a particular sub-sector getting special attention and others being ignored, the spokesperson added. It is only the general consumer protection that gets the priority attention of the regulator and that is how the law demands of it.
Strongly refuting baseless allegations of delays and self-interest leveled by CNG association’s office holder Ghiyas Piracha, the spokesperson said that Ogra has to take care of the entire midstream and downstream petroleum industry which is much more than mere CNG (compressed natural gas).
Referring to a statement by Paracha in a section of Press, the spokesperson said it appears as effort to malign the autonomous regulator of the state.
The CNG dealer has not only leveled baseless allegations against the members and Chairman of the Authority who are the professionals of high integrity and are appointed by the federal government as per the legal criteria on the basis of their outstanding qualification and experience but also used derogatory language against them in the statement in question.
As regards the appointment of the members as well as that of the Chairman it is the Cabinet Division’s purview and Authority has no powers to declare any member as dysfunctional. As soon as a member completes one’s tenure under the Ordinance, the Authority writes to the Cabinet Division, accordingly.
Additionally, Ogra has its Complaints Cell established under Complaints Resolution Procedure 2003, fully functional to address the grievances of any of the stakeholders as per prescribed rules and regulations.
Therefore, for anyone of the general public or from amongst the stakeholders who do have a complaint even against the regulator itself the Cell is the right forum rather than approaching the media that too with a derogatory language.
It is also relevant to note here that Ogra takes all major decisions going through a threadbare mechanism of Public Hearing which is open not only for general public and stakeholders but also for the independent and highly vibrant media. For instance, Ogra held public hearing in Lahore with regards to the determination of the annual revenue requirements of the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited September 5, the spokesperson concluded.