ISLAMABAD, Jan 25: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet decided on Tuesday to allow fresh bidding for the import of liquefied natural gas and asked the ministry of petroleum to consult the law ministry on the issue.

“The ECC decided in principle for re-tendering and asked the petroleum ministry to do the paperwork,” Finance Secretary Dr Waqar Masood Khan told journalists.

The LNG import project had been hanging in the balance for more than a year because of a controversy over procedural lapses in the post-bidding process that led the Supreme Court to take suo motu notice.

On the basis of the court’s judgment, the petroleum ministry had sought award of the contract to a select consortium of bidders.

Opposing the request, the law ministry had advised the petroleum ministry to go for fresh bidding, instead of wasting time on insisting the contract should be awarded to the earlier consortium of European and US companies.

The project involves import of 3.5 million tons of LNG per annum for 25 years through a consortium led by 4Gas of the Netherlands and GDF-Suez of France through setting up a floating terminal for re-gasification.

The petroleum ministry had told the ECC that the re-bidding process would delay implementation of the project by another two years.

Meanwhile, the sources said the consortium partners are planning to seek contempt of court proceedings, before the Supreme Court, against the government on the grounds that the SC decision had not been implemented.

They said the Supreme Court in its judgment had directed the government to “put up a summary relating to the Mashaal Pakistan Project before the ECC for a fresh decision for awarding the contract for supply of LNG to 4Gas, the developer declared qualified by the consultant SSGCL”.

The sources said the re-tendering of the project as advised by the ministry of law was contrary to the text of the judgement and amounted to contempt of court and gave rise to claims against the government.

They said that in line with the court judgment, the 4Gas consortium resubmitted integrated LNG (supply and re-gasification terminal) proposal based on GDF Suez offer for LNG supply and provided supportive letters from Carlyle/Riverstone, AtlasInvest and International Finance Corporation, and spent $10 million on the project development to meet tender requirements.

The sources said the Supreme Court did not question the selection of 4Gas as developer of the project nor was 4Gas a party to the suo motu proceedings. The court, they said, did not revoke ECC’s earlier decision to award terminal development to 4Gas.

FERTILISER: The ECC also discussed restoration of gas supply to the fertiliser industry for 30 days, but could not take a decision in view of a countrywide loadshedding of natural gas.

The meeting was informed that 55,000 tons of urea was available with the Trading Corporation of Pakistan but the stocks had been allocated to Sindh for distribution among the flood-affected farmers.

The committee directed the ministries concerned to make the urea stocks available, improve the gas supply situation and get an assurance from the Saudi authorities for utilisation of its $100 million facility for import of 225,000 tons of urea before Jan 15.

The ECC directed prime minister’s adviser on agriculture Kamal Majeedullah to get in touch with the Sindh government so that urea stocked with the TCP could be made available to general farmers.