Ogra act amendment to bring $200m

The government is set to amend the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) Act aimed at allowing the operator of Energas Terminal to have monopoly over capacity utilistion in a bid to attract investment of $200 million from Qatar. At present, the terminal operator is bound to permit the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure to the third party with the consent of Ogra, meaning anybody can qualify for utilising the terminal. Energas Terminal is a QatarEnergy project in which Qatar is poised to acquire 49% shares. Energas has already signed a gas sale-purchase agreement with Qatar for LNG supplies. According to sources, Qatar had raised the issue with the government of Pakistan and sought full control over the use of LNG terminal capacity without involvement of the regulator or any other government agency. The government has accepted Doha’s demand and decided to propose an amendment to the Ogra Act for exemption from third-party access to the terminal capacity.