ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Saturday handed Secretary Power Division Ali Raza Bhutta the charge of the office of secretary Petroleum Division for a period of three months or till the posting of a regular incumbent as it transferred Dr Arshad Mahmood.
According to a notification issued by the Establishment Division, “Dr Arshad Mehmood, BS-22 officer of Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS), presently posted as secretary Petroleum Division, is transferred and directed to report to the Establishment Division with immediate effect and until further orders”.
According to sources, Dr Mahmood’s transfer was finalised after a meeting between Prime Minister Imran Khan and Federal Energy Minister Hammad Azhar, held to discuss various issues of the energy sector here on Friday.
They said that Hammad Azhar had held the secretary Petroleum responsible for all of the energy sector’s issues, including the import of expansive Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), the prevailing gas crisis and the overload of furnace oil at refineries.
It is pertinent to mention that Independent Power Producers (IPPs) are allegedly under-maintaining stocks of High Sulphur Furnace Oil (HSFO) and Low Sulphur Furnace Oil (LSFO), with reportedly all storages of power plants empty or having a backup of only 2 to 3 days at the moment, following which the Oil Company Advisory Council (OCAC) had requested the the Director General (Oil) to resolve the matter.
On the other hand, state-owned gas utilities-Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) & Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) have suspended gas supply to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Balochistan and Sindh for an indefinite period.
SSGCL has also halted gas supply to all non-export industries including their captive power plants across Sindh and Balochistan till further orders.
