May 16, 2006	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 17, 1427

ISLAMABAD, May 15: The Privatisation Commission Board is expected to meet here later this month to approve arrangements for the privatisation of Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) by June 30, 2006. Informed sources told Dawn on Monday that the PC Board meeting was likely to be convened after Privatisation and Investment Minister Zahid Hamid arrived Islamabad from abroad. He is on a four-nation tour with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

They said the PPL transaction had been accelerated after an increased interest shown by some international companies, particularly by Hungarian oil and gas company — MOL. The company has recently successfully discovered huge gas reserves in the NWFP, and its capitalisation exceeded $10 billion last year.

Prime Minister Aziz Shaukat wants both the transactions — PPL and Pakistan State Oil (PSO) — completed by June 30 this year.

“However, the more focus is on the disinvestment of PPL because of the increased interest being shown especially by a couple of foreign buyers,” a source said.

He said the Privatisation Commission officials would brief the new privatisation minister about the PPL transaction after his return before the PC Board meeting.

Besides MOL, an oil and gas giant in central Europe, 13 other companies from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, China, the UAE, Austria and Pakistan had also submitted their expressions of interests (EoIs) to the Privatisation Commission in May last year.

However, 11 companies eventually submitted their statements of qualification (SoQs) for acquiring 50 per cent equity stakes in PPL. The companies include: BG Group, UK; BP Pakistan Exploration Production, US; China National Oil and Gas Exploration and Zhenhua Oil Company Limited; Hungarian MOL; Consortium of Energy International, Canada; Devan Salman Fibre Limited and Associates, Pakistan; International Energy Corporation, Canada; Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company; OMV of Austria, Orient Petroleum Pakistan; and Tyson Oil and Energy, UK.

The sources said that MOL had also shown interest in taking part in the privatisation of other Pakistan’s strategic assets in the oil and gas sector, including refineries. Company’s chairman Hernadi Zsolt had visited Pakistan in 2005 and expressed willingness to take part in the privatisation of oil and gas companies during a meeting with President Pervez Musharraf.