Provincial governments have reportedly pushed back against a federal proposal to limit their involvement in the administration of the oil and gas sector, with Punjab seeking representation for all provinces on the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) alongside federal representatives.
According to Tribune, the federal government has circulated a summary proposing that the Council of Common Interests play no role in routine administrative matters concerning the oil and gas sector. The document has been sent to the finance, planning, law and justice ministries, the Cabinet Division, the Attorney General and all four provincial governments for their views.
The proposal has drawn objections from the provinces, which have argued that their constitutional rights over oil and gas resources must be reflected in the sector’s administrative and regulatory framework. Punjab, while supporting the independent functioning of regulatory bodies under existing laws and policies, has called for representation from both the federal government and all provincial governments.
Punjab further proposed that provincial grievances against regulatory or administrative decisions could be taken to the CCI, allowing regulators to operate independently while retaining a mechanism for resolving disputes between the federation and provinces.
Sindh opposed part of the federal proposal, pointing to Article 172(3) of the Constitution, which provides for oil and gas resources located within a province or its adjoining territorial waters to vest jointly and equally in the federal government and the relevant province. It argued that provinces therefore have an equal role in decisions concerning these resources.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also maintained that Parliament cannot legislate in a manner contrary to the constitutional provisions governing shared ownership of oil and gas resources. The province argued that the federal government should exercise its executive authority as a fiduciary in protecting provincial rights rather than treating the resources as exclusively federal property.
Balochistan said policy decisions and amendments in the sector should be approved through the CCI, while regulatory matters should remain with the relevant regulator under rules and guidelines established at the CCI level. It also rejected excluding the CCI from administrative matters, citing Articles 154, 156 and 172(3), along with Entry 2 of the Fourth Schedule.
According to Balochistan, these constitutional provisions give the CCI a broader supervisory role in the operational framework for mineral oil and natural gas. It further maintained that the CCI has the authority to deliberate on and issue policy guidelines concerning the division and exercise of executive powers between the federation and provinces in the management of these resources.
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