PPL Wants Govt to Pay Back Rs. 6.18 Billion Pending Dues in FY2023-24

Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) seeks recovery of Rs. 6.18 billion in pending dues during the financial year (FY) 2023-24. In a letter to the Secretary of Petroleum, Managing Director/CEO PPL Imran Abbasy has asked to recover Rs. 6.18 billion owed to the Oil & Gas exploration company by the Central Power Generation Company Limited (CPGCL). The company has requested for the amount to be recovered from the Petroleum Division on a Take or Pay (ToP) basis, reported Business Recorder. Managing Director/CEO PPL Imran Abbasy mentioned the reference of para on the ToP amount before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the sequence of meetings between PPL and CPGCL under the Ministry of Energy’s instruction. Pertinently, PPL and CPGCL decided at their most recent meeting on May 22, 2023, that an amount of Rs 6.182 billion is outstanding from CPGCL on account of the ToP mechanism. Accordingly, PPL presented the case to its Board of Directors (BoD) for approval. The BoD recommended the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) be requested to obtain confirmation of the ToP amount of Rs 6.182 billion from the Power Division to ensure complete payment of the agreed amount during FY24. The Board also suggested that the words “but without affecting the operational requirements of CPGCL” appearing in clause No. 2 of the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) of Power and Petroleum Divisions’ recommendations be removed as this puts recovery from CPGCL in doubt. Abbasy urged that in accordance with the PPL BoD’s suggestions, Secretary Petroleum should intervene to have the agreed-upon amount of Rs. 6.182 billion budgeted for FY24 and released to PPL. So far, it is not yet known whether the pending amount has been budgeted for the upcoming financial year.