Kathmandu, April 3

Monthly import of fuel was recorded at an all-time high in March as demand sky-rocketed after the prolonged fuel crisis in the country due to the four-and-a-half-month long obstruction in the bordering towns ended. Though the border blockade came to an end in the first week of February, the supply of petroleum products from India increased only from last month.

According to Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) — the state owned petroleum company — import of petrol stood at 29,700 kilolitres (kl) in March. Likewise, the country imported 111,000 kilolitres of diesel and 30,135 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the month.

During normal times, monthly import of petrol, diesel and LPG stands at 20,000 kl, 80,000 kl and 29,000 tonnes, respectively. Though NOC has imported excess quantity of fuel than in the normal times, the supply situation in the country is still erratic.

Mukunda Prasad Ghimire, spokesperson at NOC, said that supply of petrol has almost eased.

NOC has prioritised diesel distribution to public transportation vehicles and emergency services, said Ghimire. Consumption of diesel has also been rising due to growing demand from the construction sector as massive works of reconstruction and new construction are going on in the country. Construction works which had come to a halt during the border blockade have also resumed, which in turn has increased the demand for diesel, he added.

NOC Spokesperson Ghimire said that demand for diesel will come down only after the monsoon starts, which is not favourable for construction works. Likewise, consumption of diesel to operate generators will also drop as Nepal Electricity Authority cuts the load-shedding hours.

Most importantly, consumers have been facing difficulties in purchasing cooking gas, though supply from India in March exceeded 30,000 tonnes. In February, the country had imported only half that quantity.

Kush Prasad Mally, vice president of Nepal LP Gas Industry Association, has said that the country needs to import around 40,000 tonnes of cooking gas in April to normalise supply situation. Currently, around three million LPG cylinders out of a total of 6.5 million cylinders circulated by 55 bottling plants in the country are yet to be refilled, according to him.

NOC has said that the product delivery order will be issued based on the capacity of the bottling plants to import LPG. Bottling plants import cooking gas from Barauni, Haldia and Mathura refineries of Indian Oil Corporation. Barauni — the nearest refinery from Nepal — caters to 50 per cent of the total demand of the country.

No decision yet on Siddhartha Gas

KATHMANDU: The Department of Supply Management and Consumer Protection (DoSMCP) has yet to take a decision in a case related to Siddhartha Gas. A market monitoring team led by Minister for Supplies Ganesh Man Pun had sealed around 800 cylinders of the concerned bottling plant, on February 24, citing that the cylinders were damaged. A team of Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM) had also visited the bottling plant in Dhading to check the safety of the cylinders and had sent its suggestion to DoSMCP stating that there is no provision to scrap cylinders

and the cylinders could only be sent for hydrostatic test. LPG cylinders need to undergo a hydrostatic test for the first time after 10 years from the first refilling. The hydrostatic test is then conducted for the second time after five years and then every three years. After receiving the suggestion from NBSM, the DoSMCP has asked Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) regarding the provision of scrapping LPG cylinders that are not properly maintained. After receiving the NOC’s view, the DoSMCP will take a decision in the case of 800 cylinders of Siddhartha Gas, informed Gokul Prasad Dhital, director general of DoSMCP. However, NOC Spokesperson Mukunda Prasad Ghimire has said that NOC does not have any specific rule regarding the expiry of cooking gas cylinders.