ISLAMABAD, Oct 11: The National Assembly's Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources approved on Tuesday amendments to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2011, making oil and gas theft a non-bailable offence with maximum jail term of 14 years and a fine of Rs10 million for damaging the oil and gas pipelines.

A committee meeting, chaired by Talib Hussain Nakai, approved the insertion of a new chapter, 'XVII A, Offence Relating to Oil and Gas', in the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860.

The draft bill will be tabled in the National Assembly during its current session.

Briefing the committee, Petroleum Minister Dr Asim Hussain said that tampering with gas meters, stealing oil and gas from pipelines were not covered under any law and the culprits were set free by courts because there were no laws to penalise them.

The petroleum ministry estimated that gas theft caused a loss of Rs20 billion and oil theft a loss of Rs18 billion a year. The government and oil and gas companies ultimately passed the losses to consumers.

According to the draft bill, “any person who wilfully tampers or attempts to tamper or abets in tampering with a facility (gas pipeline) installation or main pipeline for termination or transportation, as case may be, of petroleum is said to commit tampering with petroleum pipelines.”

“Any person who tampers or abets in tampering with petroleum pipelines for the purpose of theft and disrupting supply of petroleum shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment which may be extended to 14 years with fine which may be extend to Rs10 million.”

“Any person who tampers or abets in tampering with auxiliary or distribution pipeline of petroleum for the purpose of theft of petroleum or disrupting supply of petroleum will be punished with rigorous imprisonment which may extend to 10 years and with fine which may extend to Rs3 million.”

“Any person who tampers or abets in tampering with any gas meter, regulator, meter index, or gas connection or any other related system and equipment, whether to commit theft of gas or for the purpose of unauthorised distribution or supply of gas shell be punishable in case of: a domestic consumer, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or fine which may extend to Rs100,000 or both.”

In case of industrial and commercial consumer, tampering with gas meter will be liable to imprisonment for a term which may extend to five to 10 years and fine which may extend to Rs5 million or both.

“Any person who damages or destructs any transmission or transportation lines by an act of subversion by explosive material or in any other manner so as to disrupt of petroleum supply shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to 14 years and fine which may extend to Rs10 million but shall not be less than Rs1 million.”

The proposed amendment bill was pending in the National Assembly's Finance Committee since 1997 as successive governments did not take it seriously.