Kathmandu, March 10

In the wake of the crippling fuel crisis that recently gripped the country, Nepal Oil Corporation is planning to expand its storage facility. The state-owned petroleum company has initiated the process to expand the storage of petrol at its Thankot depot, which caters to demand in the Kathmandu Valley.

The existing storage capacity of petrol in Thankot can serve the demand of only five days in the Valley but after its expansion, NOC will be able to supply petrol for at least 17 days. Daily consumption of petrol in Kathmandu hovers at around 350 kl.

“Following the expansion, which is expected to take around three months, the Thankot depot that can store 1,870 kl of petrol will be able to store 6,070 kl,” said Mukunda Prasad Ghimire, spokesperson for NOC. “We have initiated the conversion process of kerosene storage tanks to store petrol at Thankot depot.”

There are two tanks to store kerosene in Thankot depot with 2,100 kl capacity each, which have remained unused since liquefied petroleum gas supply began in the Kathmandu Valley. NOC has an additional storage tank of 760 kl capacity in Thankot depot, enough to store current supply of kerosene, said Ghimire.

As per NOC, a floating roof needs to be installed in both the tanks to prevent petrol from evaporating. The government has also instructed NOC to expand fuel storage in the aftermath of prolonged fuel crisis in the country.

NOC is also preparing to expand the fuel storage capacity to meet the demand of at least three months so that the state-owned company can distribute fuel uninterruptedly even if supply from the source is obstructed. Expansion of Amlekhgunj depot, the largest fuel storage depot in the country, has been scheduled as part of Nepal-India Petroleum Pipeline Project that the Government of India has offered to build as grant assistance to Nepal.

Chinese assistance to be sought

KATHMANDU: On the request of Nepal Oil Corporation, the Ministry of Supplies has urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to include fuel storage capacity expansion in the agenda of Nepal during Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s visit to China beginning on March 20. NOC has made a proposal to invite Chinese assistance in building storage facility in Panchkhal of Kavre, Trishuli of Nuwakot and Khaireni of Tanahun districts with total capacity of 42,000 kl for various products. Currently, the country has total storage capacity of 71,198 kl for petroleum products.