LPG shortage temporary : NOC

SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, APR 08 -

Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has said that the supply of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) throughout the country was in a comfortable position.

Explaining the reason behind the queues for cooking gas in Dharan and other cities, NOC spokesman Mukunda Dhungel said that there had been a temporary shortage due to a strike by trade unions excluded from the recent salary hike deal. “Now there is no need to worry about a shortage,” added Dhungel.

However, it will take one more month for normal supply of LPG. Gas bottlers said the shortage was likely to remain till May. LPG is still in short supply in the country’s major cities. The state-owned petroleum monopoly that imported 15,600 tons of LPG from India in March, had requested Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) for 19,000 tons of LPG for April. “If NOC imports 19,000 tons of LPG in April, the supply will become normal by May,” said Suresh Prajapati, general secretary of the Nepal LP Gas Industry Association.

Gas bottling companies admitted that NOC had increased the supply of LPG in March.

The long queues in the market, according to gas bottlers, were due to a decline in imports

by NOC in January and February. “Imports were slashed to about 12,000 tons in January and February which had affected supply in March,” said Prajapati.

Consumption of LPG increased by 16.29 percent in the first eight months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period in the last fiscal.

According to NOC statistics, the country imported 100,557 tons of LPG in the first eight months of the current fiscal year against 86,455 tons during the same period in the last fiscal year.

LPG consumption started rising after 2007-08 when imports surged by almost 20 percent. In 2009-10, LPG imports increased by 21 percent to reach 141,171 tons.

Gas bottling companies said the reason behind the sharp rise in LPG imports was the increased number of households using LPG for cooking. The energy crisis has also prompted people to turn to LPG.