By Z A Ansari: New Delhi, March 25, 2025: The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), responsible for facilitating equitable distribution of oil and gas across the country, currently has no representation from the upstream sector. With professionals only from the downstream industry in its existing membership, discussions have intensified within corporate circles.
Experts point out that upstream companies are heavily equipment intensive, operate thousands of kilometers of pipelines and effectively manage the external stake holders often under adverse conditions must have representation in PNGRB.
Notably, an interview process for a vacant position in PNGRB is set to take place soon. This has sparked debates on whether regulatory bodies provide adequate representation to the upstream sector. Concerns have also been raised about the possibility of policy decisions becoming skewed due to this imbalance.
In the coming days, all eyes will be on government and industry responses regarding this vacancy and the broader issue of sectoral representation in regulatory bodies.