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The PSO had signed late last month an agreement with Petrosin - a Singapore-based company - to install LPG filling dispensers at 400 PSO pump stations across the country. The PSO's board had approved through a majority vote the deal with Petrosin.
The ministry of petroleum and natural resources had convened a meeting of the PSO's board of directors here on Friday to review the development.
Informed sources said that the board meeting on Friday “did not approve the PSO-Petrosin agreement and directed with consensus that the process should be made transparent, equitable and providing level playing field to all interested parties”. No official from the government or the PSO management was available for official comment on the development.
These sources said the board 'noted with consensus' that Petrosin did not have 'significant role' in the country's LPG business and had no international experience in LPG. These sources said the government representatives in the board expressed serious concern that the Singaporean firm was in litigation with three government companies - OGDCL, SSGCL and PPL - that had contributed to the current energy crisis in the country.
The litigation in projects like Qadirpur, Kunnar and Bobi, these sources said, was resulting in a loss of about $200 million per day because the state-owned entities had been compelled to hold up their development activities.
Petrosin had said a day earlier that it had won the contract through a 'transparent bidding process' and had signed 'legally valid and binding agreement' to development infrastructure and supply LPG to motorists through 400 PSO stations.
Repeated attempts to seek the company's view about litigation with government entities and resultant energy problems could not materialise.
The sources said the PSO management informed the meeting that the board had earlier concurred with the agreement through majority vote because its parameters were much better with other competing bidder. The management also informed the meeting that another European company - SHV Energy - had also expressed its interest to be involved in the LPG autogas business.
The board asked the PSO management to seek further details and examine past performance of the companies interested in the LPG autogas project. The sources said the government, as a major shareholder in the PSO, would like to examine outcome of LPG sale at 400 stations in the first phase before allowing more stations to follow suit.
Already under scrutiny for some major oil and gas deals, the ministry wanted to move in accordance with Public Procurement Authority Rules to avoid future complications in LPG auto business. At present, the Supreme Court, parliamentary committees and intelligence agencies are probing some oil and gas deals.
