February 19, 2007	Monday	Safar 1, 1428

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KOHAT, Feb 18: Twenty-five union council nazims of Kohat on Saturday moved the Peshawar High Court seeking help for the supply gas from local wells to Kohat, Karak and the whole province on priority basis.

The court fixed Feb 22 as the first date of hearing and summoned the secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, NWFP chief secretary, general manager of the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline, field managers of the Shakardarra Oil and Gas Development Corporation, Kohat, and MOL Pakistan Oil and Gas Company, Karak.

The petitioners, represented by Syed Iftikhar Hussain Gilani, said there were three functioning oil and gas fields in Karak and Kohat districts – Guguri, Makori and Chanda – and Mella was under development.

The projected output capacity of these facilities is 382 million, million cubic feet per day against the total requirement of Kohat of 10 mmcfd and the NWFP of 295 mmcfd.

The petition said that under the Petroleum Exploration and Production Policy read with the Petroleum Concessions Agreement 2001, the companies and the government had to provide gas to local people, undertake other social programs in the region and give preference in jobs to local residents.

It said the respondents should make arrangements for laying the required infrastructure.

It said commercial supply to other provinces from the wells had started two years back which was injustice with the province and the people of the area.

The petitioners stated that the NWFP had already been deprived of its due share of water under the 1991 water accord due to non-availability of essential canals. So, they feared, if infrastructure was not laid for provision of gas, the province would suffer a loss. Presently, the NWFP is getting 5.10 million acre feet water against its share of 8.78 MAF due to lack of infrastructure.

They prayed the court to ask the companies concerned to fulfil requirements of ‘concession agreements’ and repair the Shakardarra road damaged by movement of heavy vehicles of these companies.