OGDC recommends names for post of MD.

Byline: zafar bhutta

ISLAMABAD -- The new board of directors of Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC) has sent a list of controversial names to the Petroleum Division for selecting and appointing managing director of the country's largest hydrocarbon exploration firm, sources say.

However, all of the recommended names are from an old list prepared by the previous OGDC board. The previous board, formed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government, had made several attempts to get the company head appointed, but failed due to the nomination of people from companies working as contractors of OGDC.

State-owned OGDC is the only company that has picked candidates selected by the previous board whereas boards of all other public sector oil and gas companies have started the process afresh and advertised the post.

The new OGDC board, formed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, has recommended four names for the post of managing director.

One candidate is from a contracting company and his name was also earlier recommended by the previous board. However, he lacks experience of working in oil and gas exploration companies.

The other candidate recommended by the board is currently working on a key post in OGDC. He was appointed by the previous board and now the new board has recommended him for the slot of managing director.

However, he is facing investigation by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and his name is also among those OGDC officials who have been recently placed on the Exit Control List (ECL). The third candidate has experience of working in the oil and gas exploration sector. He is the country manager of Kufpec.

In another move, the bureaucracy has managed to depute Deputy Secretary Rohail Aziz Quidwai, a BS-19 officer of the Secretariat Group, in OGDC by bypassing the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division), according to notifications available with The Express Tribune.

In the first notification issued on July 16, the deputy secretary posted in the Prime Minister's Office was transferred to the Petroleum Division. Later, the bureaucracy built pressure on the Petroleum Division to place him in OGDC. However, the Petroleum Division refused to send him to OGDC on deputation.

In the second notification issued on July 19, the Establishment Division transferred the deputy secretary directly to OGDC...