ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has directed the Petroleum Division and the Directorate General of Petroleum Concessions (DGPC) to proceed under law against Frontier Holdings Ltd (FHL) and Spud Energy Pty Ltd (SPUD) over an unauthorised change of effective control. This violation may lead to the revocation of petroleum rights.

The court issued a decisive order on Feb 10, directing the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Divi­sion) and the Directorate General of Petroleum Concessions (DGPC) to proceed with enforcement action against FHL and SPUD, following allegations of an unauthorised transfer of effective corporate control in violation of Pakistan’s Petroleum Rules.

The court order, issued in Writ Petition No. 4195/2025, has restrained the authorities from regulatory delay and instructed them to take the show-cause proceedings to their legal conclusion “expeditiously” and strictly in accordance with law.

The matter relates to a transaction executed in early 2025, through which Jura Energy Corporation allegedly transferred effective control of its corporate group — comprising FHL and SPUD — to IDL Investments Ltd via an offshore arrangement, without obtaining prior approval from the Government of Pakistan.

Under Pakistan’s petroleum regulatory framework, any disposition of share capital or an ownership arrangement that results in a change of effective control — whether at the operating company level or indirectly through parent companies — requires prior government consent.

However, as the consent was never sought, the DGPC issued a show-cause notice in July 2025, but no enforcement action was taken.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2026