ISLAMABAD, Sept 8: The government appointed on Wednesday relatively little known Adnan A. Khawaja as managing director of the state-owned Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), the country's largest oil and gas producer.

Notification about Mr Khawaja's appointment was issued by the Establishment Division on direct instructions of the Prime Minister's Secretariat on Wednesday and he immediately joined the company. Mr Khawaja will get a lucrative remuneration package of over Rs1.6 million a month.

Sources in the petroleum ministry said the induction came as a surprise for Petroleum Minister Syed Naveed Qamar who had hinted at confirming acting managing director Naeem Malik as full time MD. Mr Malik, they said, had even started preparing for early retirement from his government job as director general petroleum to take over the OGDCL.

“We do not know about Mr Khwaja's professional background. His appointment orders came after approval from the Prime Minister's Secretariat and the Establishment Division has issued a formal notification in this regard. He has assumed the charge of OGDCL's managing director,” said an official.

Informed sources said Mr Khawaja was a personal friend of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and was working as chairman of the National Vocational Training Commission (Navtec).

He developed close friendship with the prime minister during his days in jail about five years ago.

He was also a close friend of Faisal Sakhi Butt, an Islamabad-based friend of President Zardari, they added.

The post of managing director of OGDCL fell vacant in January this year after Zahid Hussain quit the job following a controversy about delayed installation of compression facilities at Qadirpur gas field.

After Mr Hussain's resignation, a senior official of Intelligence Bureau, Shah Mahboob Alam, was given the charge of OGDCL's acting chief.

He was tipped as full-time company chief before he developed difference with the petroleum minister.

He was relieved of the responsibility after reaching superannuation last month.