ISLAMABAD - The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has asked the federal government to include the province in the negotiations on Re-Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG), it is learnt reliably here.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa demand came after the Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) has asked the federal government to resolve the Re-Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) issue with the Sindh government, official sources told The Nation Wednesday.
Pursuing the directives of the IPC, the Sindh government has written a letter to the Federal Secretary Petroleum and asked him to convene a meeting to resolve the issue with Sindh, the source said.
However, now the situation has taken another turn and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has also asked the federal government to include the province in the negotiations on RLNG.
In a letter, the Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination has asked the Ministry of Petroleum to resolve the issue with Sindh government. “On the legal interpretation of RLNG issue, the ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources will convene a meeting, inviting representatives from the law department, government of Sindh and Law, Justice & Human Rights Division to achieve consensus in this case,” the letter directed.
Sindh has reservation over several matters related to the import of LNG which according to them is being imported for Punjab. As per a swap arrangement, the RLNG is being injected into the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) system and local gas from gas fields in Sindh is being diverted to the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline (SNGPL) system.
According the Sindh stance, the swapping arrangement without consensus of Sindh government is a violation of Article 158 of the constitution which guarantees precedence of gas producing province over others in utilisation of natural gas. Sindh fears that this arrangement may compromise energy security of largest gas producing province.
Besides, the Sindh government is also demanding the federal government to provide royalty on RLNG to province as it is being supplied to Punjab by utilising Sindh's route. According the Sindh government the making decision about LNG without the authorisation of Council of Common Interests (CCI) is unconstitutional.
The federal government has rejected the Sindh government stance against the LNG import as baseless and is of the view that the province was taken into confidence on RLNG during the meetings of the Inter Provincial Coordination(IPC) and Council of Common Interests (CCI).
When asked about the reason for the KP government to become part of the RLNG negotiations, an official of the provincial government said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa wants to ensure its share in the future imported RLNG. “We don’t need it now but in future the province may require extra gas therefore it is necessary that KP must be part and parcel of the RLNG related negotiations,” he added.