Islamabad: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has decided in favour of laying the white oil pipeline proposed by the Frontier Oil Company (FOC) — a subsidiary of the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO). Consequently, work on the Inter State Gas Systems (ISGS) pipeline, meant for the same route, has been abandoned.
In a meeting chaired by Finance Minister Asad Umar, the Frontier Oil Company’s arguments for laying the white oil pipeline (from Machike to Taru Jabba) prevailed. As a result, the ISGS’s proposal was rejected.
The Frontier Oil Company will undertake the pipeline construction work on its own without seeking financial assistance from the government. The FOC representative told ECC that the company will arrange the right of way on its own expenses – but with the help of the government.
Moreover, Frontier Oil possesses a licence for building the pipeline. ISGS, on the other hand, did not have a construction license, and the project was scheduled for a 15-year development timeframe under a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) arrangement.
