Hascol Board appoints new CEO, two board directors

Amid the controversy of default, the board of directors of Hascol Petroleum Limited has appointed Aqeel Ahmed Khan as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and two independent board of directors effective from August 5, 2021.

Hascol Petroleum has faced a bank default and since that time, it has been in news.

The board has approved Mr. Zafar Iqbal Chaudhry and Mr.Mustafa Ashraf to the Board as independent directors.

In recent days, Hascol Petroleum has been in news over its default on banks.

The parliamentary body on petroleum had also taken a notice of its default and alleged Rs 15 billion corruption and scam in the company.

The parliamentary panel had also raised questions about how the company was operating.

During the oil crisis that occurred in June 2020, Hascol had also been in the news, and Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) had imposed a fine over failure to offload oil to its dealers.

Since that time, it has been facing problems.

However, company management claims that it was trying to put the house in order.

Now, it is negotiating with banks to turn its loan into equity by offering shares.

During this, all hassle, the board of directors approved to remove the chief executive officer (CEO) of Hascol Petroleum Limited Mr. Adeeb Ahmad.

It appointed Aqeel Ahmed as the new chief executive officer Hascol Petroleum. He has already worked as CEO of the company. However, the board had been removed earlier when the company was facing a problem.

In a notice sent to Pakistan Stock Exchange Limited, the management of Hascol Petroleum Limited said that in accordance with Section 96 of the Securities Act,2015, and Clause 5.6.1 (a)(xvi) of PSX Regulations, the Company hereby informs that the Board of Directors of Hascol Petroleum Limited, in its emergent meeting held on Thursday, has approved the appointment of Mr.Aqeel Ahmed Khan as its CEO with effect August 5 2021.

It further said that Mr Aqeel Ahmed had replaced Mr. Adeeb Ahmad who had resigned from the position.

The Board has also approved the appointment of Mr. Zafar Iqbal Chaudhry and Mr.Mustafa Ashraf to the Board as independent directors.

The Board of Directors would like to place on public record its gratitude to Mr. Adeeb Ahmad for his service and efforts rendered to the Company during a challenging period.

Hascol is currently in negotiations with its creditors to finalize a restructuring of the Company’s liabilities.

The Company’s Board and Shareholders are committed to a successful restructuring of the Company and long-term options are being evaluated.

We finally wish to inform Hascol has lifted its stay order restraining the SECP’s investigation regarding its 2019 financial disclosures, and is cooperating with the SECP in this regard, the company management said.