Kathmandu, November 30

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) bottlers in the country are planning to increase their storage capacity following a surge in LPG demand in country in recent years.

In a bid to ensure regular supply in the market as per the demand, LPG bottlers like Nepal Gas, Maruti Gas, Sugam Gas and Greeha Laxmi Gas, among others are investing in infrastructure to increase their cooking gas storage capacity.

According to Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), LPG demand in the country is growing at an annual rate of 10 per cent.

Nepal Gas Industry (Nepal Gas), which is the major player in the market, is investing almost Rs 650 million to expand its LPG storage capacity at Balaju Industrial Estate. Manager of Nepal Gas Rajendra Dangal informed that the company is expanding its LPG storage capacity to 1,000 metric tonnes from the current storage capacity of 87 metric tonnes.

“We have been developing international standard LPG storage tank based on French technology and the entire construction will be completed within two months. With this, Nepal Gas will have capacity to store 1,000 metric tonnes of LPG gas,” said Dangal, adding that the need to expand storage facility was felt following the increasing demand of Nepal Gas among the public.

Claiming that Nepal Gas enjoys 16 per cent of the market share in the domestic LPG market, Dangal informed that they have also increased the LPG cylinder-filling capacity to 36,000 cylinders per day from the previous filling capacity of around 7,000 LPG cylinders in a day.

Similarly, Maruti Gas Udhyog (Maruti Gas), which is based in Sunsari, is increasing its LPG storage capacity to 250 metric tonnes from existing 116 metric tonnes.

“We have placed the order for a high-tech LPG storage bullet from India, which will have capacity to store 133 metric tonnes of LPG,” said Sudharsan Pradhan, head of Maruti Gas, adding that the company will be able to store 250 metric tonnes of LPG within six months. Pradhan further informed that the company is doubling its LPG filling capacity to 3,600 cylinders per day soon.

Shiva Ghimire, president of Nepal LP Gas Industry Association (NLGIA), said that bottlers have plans to increase the combined total LPG storage capacity of all bottling plants to 10,000 metric tonnes from the existing 6,000 metric tonnes. “Almost a dozen LPG bottling plants are developing infrastructure to expand their gas storage capacity,” said Ghimire, adding that enhanced LPG storage capacity among bottlers will ensure uninterrupted supply of cooking gas in the market.

There are 53 gas bottling plants in the country and as per NOC officials they do not need government’s permission to increase their storage capacity. Growing at 10 per cent annually, LPG demand is higher during the winter. NOC officials say LPG demand reaches around 30,000 metric tonnes per month during the winter against 23,000 to 25,000 metric tonnes per month at normal times.