With respect to the contentions made in this news item, it is apprised that PSO signed a contract of Affreightment (CoA) with Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) for transport of imported furnace oil. This agreement is in favour of the country as it will boost the revenue of the national shipping line which will trickle down to strengthen the national exchequer. Additionally, this agreement is also inline with the directives of the Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) which has called upon all public sector organisations to partner with the national shipping line for the benefit of the country. The second claim of an illegal contract with Bakri Trading is also incorrect as Bakri is the only company with fuel oil blending facilities in Pakistan and through this agreement, PSO will maximize product upliftment from domestic sources rather than importing products. Furthermore, one of the major benefits of these agreements is that as they have been concluded with local companies, therefore, all payments will be made to them in Pak Rupees rather than US dollars which will help save the precious foreign exchange of the country as well.
Furthermore, it is also clarified that the purchase of blended fuel oil from Bakri is in accordance with PPRA rule 42 "alternate methods of procurement." Contract of Affreightment signed with PNSC is also in accordance with PPRA rules and the regulatory body was responded to on November 1, explaining the compliance. The company has also responded to the SECP on their queries in these matters on November 8.
As far as the claim of adulterated supplies to the power sector is concerned, it is clarified that POL products are obtained from two sources namely local refineries and foreign imports as per prescribed quality parameters and specifications. In particular, imported fuel cargoes undergo multiple quality inspections at the time of loading by independent inspectors and product samples are counter-checked by the HDIP and PSO laboratories when the cargo reaches the shores of Pakistan. Only once all samples have been qualified to the specified quality standards is the cargo accepted.
As far as product movement is concerned, it is clarified that supplies to Hubco are made through an independently owned and operated pipeline which does not fall under the domain of PSO. Furthermore, fuel oil supplies are sampled and tested by Hubco officials before any transfer of fuel oil takes place. PSO also provides supplies through tank lorries/wagons in case of additional demand. These tank lorries/ wagons also undergo a rigorous testing procedure and are tested for quality/ quantity parameters prior to product loading and are similarly inspected by the customers when they reach their offloading destinations.
Similarly, supplies to Wapda power stations are also made through tank lorries/wagons. These transport mechanisms also undergo rigorous quality inspection prior to loading by PSO and at the time of offloading by the receiving customer. Another significant point to be explained is the weather factor. It has been noted that during the winter the temperature of that region, where Kapco is located, drops substantially which could lead to product gelling in the pipeline and result in disruption of supplies. To avoid this, the fuel oil is heated via a steaming process which results in steam ingression/traces in the product. In order to further facilitate its customers, PSO has implemented a policy of adjusting the delivered product volumes in case of any situation where the water content is over and above allowable limits.
With respect to the specific complaints mentioned in the article, it is clarified that the protest made by Hubco to PSO was caused to a routine operational matter related to choking of filters /strainers which at times due to several operational factors occur earlier than expected as per the maintenance cycle. Also, one odd complaint was received from Kapco of high water contents (about 2.2 percent against the limit of one percent), but as explained above, the product delivered to Kapco was adjusted accordingly.
Keeping in view the exhaustive product quality inspection chain listed above which includes quality checks at all points from the supplier to the end-consumer, it is clear that there are no quality concerns with PSO products. Such attempts to defame the leading public sector public sector as well as the largest energy company in the country are not appreciated and PSO remains committed to meet the energy needs of the country in a timely and responsible manner.-PR