LAHORE, July 29: Pakistan will be able to meet its furnace oil needs locally by June next year, thus saving $1 billion annually in foreign exchange.

This was stated by Usman Aminuddin, Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, while talking to newsmen here on Monday.

The minister was in city to inaugurate a two-day seminar organized by the Institution of Electrical and Electronics Engineers of Pakistan (IEEEP).

He rejected Wapda’s accusation that his ministry was largely responsible for the Wapda’s woes.

“The price of furnace oil is fixed through a mechanism evolved by the government. This includes tax, duties, profit margin of importers and distributors. The only thing that changes is price of oil in international market which is passed on through a transparent process. The price of furnace oil does not, in anyway, affect the cost of end product,” Mr Usman said.

About Wapda’s consistent complaint that it was not getting enough gas to run its power houses and lower the tariff, Mr Usman said that the first priority of his ministry was to provide gas to the power sector.

“The Wapda authorities are wrongly going after the ministry as there are certain areas where supply lines are not available. These lines are being laid out and Wapda would be getting full supplies, according to its demand, by June next year. But, it must be kept in mind that out of the total number of independent power producers (IPPs), only six or seven could be diverted to gas without additional investment, others cannot. So, it is wrong to put the entire blame on his ministry,” the minister said.

He said that all companies dealing in oil and gas sector had shown profit during the last year. That, according to him, became possible because of their corporatization and lean but effective leadership.

These reforms in the sector, he said, saved the country over Rs25 billion during the last year, and could go up to Rs45 billion in the coming years, he predicted.

Mr Usman said that the Saindak project in Balochistan had been restarted and should be complete by the end of the year. It would enable Pakistan to export 25,000 tons of copper annually making it the second biggest exporter in the world, he said.

Earlier, Mr Tanzeem Hussain Naqvi, President of the IEEEP, while welcoming the minister recounted the services of the institution and its future plans.

Mr Naqvi took the time to grill Wapda for high tariff and failure to control theft and line losses.

“The IEEEP is proud of its input that the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) sought and the institution furnished. This was a national duty that has been fulfilled,” Mr Naqvi said. Speaking on the occasion Mr BA Malik said the country was experiencing the worst water scarcity.

“Rivers carry abnormally low flows. Storage reservoirs are getting silt up, widening the gap between demand and supply.

The farmers and agriculture are in serious crisis. But inter- provincial rivalries have continued. These crises were not unexpected; newspapers warned of them on many occasions well before they developed. But nothing has moved,” he said.

He asserted that the only viable option was to conserve as much water as possible by building the Kalabagh Dam.

“Its construction has been blocked by petty regional politics, past governments, even leaders with so-called heavy mandate, ducked the issue under the elusive need of national consensus. Now, it is time to pay proper and full attention to this vital national priority.”

Khursheed Ghias Ahmad, an engineer by profession, also advocated for construction of the Kalabagh dam.

“The water crisis that has been looming for the last four years has only emphasised the need for a dam. But the controversy surrounding the project has only made the matter worse,” he observed.