Silence of Concerned Authorities Raises Questions Over Makori Oil Field Fire Incident

In September, another fire incident at the MOL Pakistan-operated Makori oil field resulted in the loss of millions of dollars due to negligence. About six months have gone, and the event has not yet been reported to the appropriate authorities. The silence of relevant authorities has raised several questions.

The fire event occurred in the Makori oil field on September 21, 2022. MOL Pakistan, a field-operating Hungarian oil and petrol corporation, has not yet reported the fire incident to the local police station and the appropriate agencies for inquiries.

A fire event at the Makori oil field reportedly caused a loss of around 17 to 18 million dollars, but MOL declined to comment on the damage. Our reporter was informed by sources at the Makori oil field that the fire was caused by the company’s disregard for the oil field’s standard operating procedures (SOPs) for safety. Fortunately, no injuries or fatalities were recorded during the fire event.

The CCTV on the oil field was not functioning correctly at the time of the event, therefore the firm did not report it to the local police station in order to file a FIR. “High-ranking petroleum ministry officials are also supporting MOL’s efforts to conceal the incident’s cause,” sources stated. It should be noted that on October 22, 2015, three employees of a local contractor perished in a fire while loading a truck in Makori East-4. MOL has 8.421% of the operating shares in the Makori oil field, together with Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), Government Holding Private Limited (GHPL), and Pakistan Oilfield Limited (POL).

Our reporter contacted MOL Pakistan to get their official account, which said, “Our reaction teams were deployed quickly after the fire incident at Makori Oil Field on September 21, 2022, and the fire was extinguished.” There were no injuries or fatalities as a result of the event.