Mansingh advised by industry to begin with clean slate
Constantly under the spotlight, the new downstream petroleum and natural gas regulator Labanyendu Mansingh is offered a regular stream of advice on how best to do his job.
Some believe he should begin with a â€کclean slate’, and discard anything written before June 25, when his office became a legal entity with its â€کnotification’ in the Gazette of India, the official recorder of government policy. “Any drafts made before June 25,†says a source, “were not done by the Board and have no legal sanctity.
†Late last year, the oil ministry began a consultation process with oil and gas industry representatives to kick-start the exercise of drafting regulations for the gas sector. “The regulator was not in place at that time,†says a source.
“Many companies might not have sent in their views.†Ideally, says a source in a multinational, the regulator has to do his own thinking.
“If he can’t do this, he’s not good at the job,†we hear. “A good regulator will also listen to voices from industry and other interested sections.
†Totally unworkable, however, “is massive consultations with 80 people in a room.†In that sense, continues this source, having advisory panels is a good idea, in principle.
“But you must staff and head these panels with genuine industry representatives,†we hear. “Having GAIL or IOC head these panels is a joke.
†GAIL is an interested party with vested interests “and must have a seat at the table but not at the head.†It is a bit like, “putting BG in charge of such a job in the UK.
†The regulator should not, we are told, “waste time listening to monopolies like GAIL.†Nor should the regulator waste time with consultants like PWC, CRISIL, and Ernst & Young.
“These people are good at presenting academic papers at conferences,†adds our source. “But they completely lack insight on what happens on the ground.
†Instead, the regulator should hire “somebody who understands the spirit of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board Act.†Who could this be “I’d go for someone from the UK, one of the success stories in gas de-regulation, which effectively stopped BG and its affiliates like Centrica from continuing to be monopolies.
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