ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Wednesday formed a committee to prepare a proposal on modalities for clearing the circular debt of the Petroleum Division.
The ECC meeting was chaired by Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh.
As per the sources, circular debt in the petroleum sector has surged to Rs1,601 billion, of which the debt of Pakistan State Oil (PSO) stood at Rs323 billion, Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) Rs401 billion, Government Holding Private Company Limited (GHPL) Rs113 billion, Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) Rs378 billion, Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) Rs54 billion, Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) Rs293 billion and Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) Rs39 billion.
During the ECC meeting, the Petroleum Division revealed that many entities in the petroleum sector were on the verge of bankruptcy, as their dues were not being cleared and that they had to depend on bank loans to manage their operations.
The adverse impact of circular debt had also badly affected exploration & production activities of the state-owned companies, it added.
After detailed discussions, the ECC formed a committee to holistically consider circular debt issues and chalk out a solution in this regard.
The said committee would comprise members from all the relevant stakeholders, including the Finance Division, Power and Petroleum Division, Planning Division, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Oil and Gas Regulator Authority (OGRA), OGDCL, PSO, SNGPL, PPL, GHPL and PLL.
The committee has been tasked to prepare a well-rounded proposal with in a month and submit the same before the ECC.
Meanwhile, the ECC approved technical supplementary grants for National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Ministry of Health (immunisation programme), Ministry of Religious Affairs (Hajj expenses) and Anti-Narcotics Force.
The Ministry of National Food Security & Research updated the ECC on the import of wheat into the country. It was informed that the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) had opened the 6th tender for 110,000MT wheat, after which the total picked up quantity would reach 320,000MT.
The ministry further informed that there would be sufficient availability of wheat in the country by January 2021 and with the increase in supply, the prices would be lowered eventually.
Moreover, the ECC enhanced the wheat quota of Gilgit-Baltistan by another 10,000MT as per its request, from 150,000MT to 160,000MT.
The modalities for increased quota for GB would be decided later.
