New PPL board to decide MD appointment as govt reconstitutes OGDCL, PPL boards

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has reconstituted the boards of directors of Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) and Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), with the new PPL board expected to decide the fate of the company’s long-delayed appointment of a new managing director (MD).

The appointment process has remained stalled at the Prime Minister’s Office due to certain observations. The previous PPL board had given the green signal to Masood Nabi for the MD position. Mr Nabi, who is currently serving as MD of Government Holdings (Private) Limited (GHPL), remains a strong contender for the PPL slot.

The government has appointed new members to the OGDCL board, including Eng Zahid Saeed, Muhammad Irshad and Roshan Khursheed Bharucha.

Ms Bharucha, a former senator and former member of the National Commission for Human Development, has held several senior public positions. She served as federal caretaker minister in 2018 and as a provincial minister in Balochistan in 2007-08. She was also a member of the Senate from 2003 to 2006.

She has served on several parliamentary standing committees and held honorary positions with international organisations and forums. Her experience covers areas including teaching, women’s welfare, sports, information technology, special education and culture.

The government has also reconstituted the board of PPL under Sections 10(1), 10(2) and 15(2) of the State-Owned Enterprises (Governance and Operations) Act, 2023, and the applicable provisions of the State-Owned Enterprises Policy, 2023.

Mr Shahid Khan has been appointed chairman and independent director of PPL, while Muhammad Irfan Siddiqui, Sadia Khan, Laeeq Ahmed and Abdul Ghani Dadabhoy have been appointed independent directors.

One independent-director position on the PPL board remains vacant.

The reconstituted board will also include ex-officio representatives of the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) and the Finance Division, as well as the Chief Secretary of Balochistan, or his representative, and the Chief Secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, or his representative.

The appointments have been made for a period of three years, subject to any change resulting from the forthcoming election of PPL’s new board of directors.

The government has directed that further action in the matter be taken in accordance with the State-Owned Enterprises Act, 2023, the SOEs Policy, 2023, the Companies Act, 2017, the respective companies’ articles of association and other applicable laws, rules and policies.

The appointments come as the government continues efforts to align the boards of state-owned enterprises with the governance requirements laid down under the 2023 SOEs legislation and policy.