Islamabad: The National Assembly Standing Committee revealed
that the national exchequer is losing Rs 60 billion annually due to gas theft
and leakage in Sui Gas Companies.
The meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee was
held under the chairmanship of Syed Mustafa Mahmood at the Parliament House, in
which committee member Gul Asghar Khan demanded the privatization of both gas
companies (SSGC and SNGP) and said that doing business is not the government’s
job.
Gul Asghar Khan said that the annual losses of Rs 60 billion
of both gas companies are not a ignorable matter.
MD Sui Northern Amir Tufail said that Sui Northern’s gas
losses due to leakage and theft are 5.27 percent, which is even less than
OGRA’s targets and the current gas loss estimate is Rs 30 billion annually.
According to Sui Southern MD Amin Rajput, the annual losses
of Sui Southern Company are also Rs 30 billion, which have been reduced from 17
percent to 10 percent.
Committee member Syed Naveed Qamar expressed concern over
the increasing circular debt of the gas sector and said that the circular debt
of the gas sector is increasing, thus the gas companies will be destroyed. The
DG Gas informed that the total circular debt of the gas sector is Rs 3283 billion,
which includes Rs 1452 billion in late payment surcharges.
The DG Gas further said that the committee was informed that
lithium deposits have been identified in various parts of the country,
including Gilgit-Baltistan and Kotli.
Furthermore, a development budget of more than Rs 4 billion
has been proposed for the institutions of the Petroleum Division for the next
financial year.
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