PSO saves US$5 million in direct purchase of base oil

Pakistan State Oil (PSO) claimed that it has saved approximately US$5 million by purchasing base oil directly from the manufacturers, thereby eliminating middlemen and commission agents. Allegations of kickbacks had led to the scrappage of a tender which was floated to buy base oil through middlemen. “Now we have procured the product directly from manufacturer Exxon under the PPRA (Public Procurement Regulatory Authority) Rule No. 42, saving an astounding amount of US$5 million,” a PSO official said. Under the rules of the PPRA, open tender is only one of several procurement methods a company can use. Rule 42 of PPRA allows a procuring agency to buy through the direct contracting method. (May 25, 2012)