Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The Caretaker Federal Minister for Energy Muhammad Ali on Monday stressed the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to discourage the scourge of smuggling from the country and the unabated sale of such a large number of smuggled items.
“A massive crackdown had already been initiated against the smugglers, the minister said, during a meeting with a delegation of OMCs headed by Secretary-General, Dr. Nazir Abbas Zaidi.
The delegation raised its issues. Mehmet Celepoglu, the Chief Executive Officer of Total Parco Pakistan also joined the meeting through video conference.
He appealed to the minister to formulate a uniform policy The minister ensured his complete support and directed the Chairman, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) and Additional Secretary In-charge, Ministry of Energy to address the issues on a priority basis.
Muhammad Ali also held an important meeting with Pakistan State Oil (PSO) management at PSO House Karachi.
He was briefed by the Managing Director PSO, Syed Muhammad Taha regarding overall performance and challenges being faced by it.
Taha apprised the minister that the PSO had an extensive network of 3,500 outlets nationwide.
The caretaker minister directed the PSO management to minimize the circular debt, being Pakistan’s leading energy company. The meeting was attended by Chairman, OGRA, Masroor Khan and Additional Secretary Incharge, Ministry of Energy, Momin Agha.
