January 13, 2020: The government had collected an amount of Rs2.197 billion on account of oil royalty from five Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production (E&P) companies during the last three years for onward payment to the provinces concerned.
“The royalty amounting to Rs2,197.17 million have been collected from five E&P companies who discovered oil reserves in their 29 fields located in different parts of the country during the last three years,” according to an official document available with APP.
The companies, including United Energy Pakistan Limited, Oil and Gas Development Company Limited, Pakistan Oilfields Limited, Pakistan Petroleum Limited and Mari Petroleum Company Limited, had paid Rs38.86 million as oil royalty in 2016-17, Rs449.99 million in 2017-18 and Rs1,708.33 million in 2018-19.
Meanwhile, a senior official privy to petroleum sector developments said the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) and Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) would spend around Rs1.384 billion to carry out welfare schemes and development projects in their operational areas during the current fiscal year under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
For the purpose he said, the OGDCL had earmarked Rs1,019 million and PPL Rs365.7 million under their CSR programs to be executed in 2019-20.
Every year, the OGDCL and PPL allocate around one percent and 1.5 percent of their pre-tax profit respectively to provide facilities like education, health, clean drinking water, vocational training and infrastructure development in their respective oil and gas producing districts under the Petroleum Concession Agreements.
The official said the government was making all-out efforts to make the Social Welfare Committees, constituted after Guidelines-2017, more effective bodies to ensure effective execution of the CSR schemes in oil and gas producing districts.
He said the committees had the mandate to identify, approve and ensure timely execution of the projects for the well-being of local communities.
As per the existing formation, Member National Assembly is the chairman of Social Welfare Committee of his respective oil and gas producing district, DCO/DC is member/secretary, while MPA, district Nazim/chairman of district council, tehsil Nazim/chairman of tehsil council, Nazim/chairman of union council are its members.
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