KATHMANDU, May 20: Things are finally looking up for the inhabitants of Kathmandu who´ve long suffered fuel-related woes. Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), which has a long record of poor inventory management, has said that it has replenished its stock of petrol at the Thankot depot, the main supply outlet for the Kathmandu Valley. It is also gradually building stocks in Amlekhgunj and other major depots across the country. [break]
The stock record of NOC shows that its petrol stock at Thankot has reached 1,800 kiloliters (KL)--a volume that amounts to a week of normal supply. The depot´s maximum petrol storage capacity is 2,630 KL, but, said officials, the depot can accommodate only 1,800 KL at present because one of its tanks has recorded a technical problem.
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The stock of diesel too has reached 3,100 KL at Thankot, said NOC Spokesperson Mukunda Dhungel.
The corporation managed to build up the stock mainly after the corporation was able to get regular supplies for itself and after the crisis-fuelled consumption levels receded to normal levels over the last 10 days. “The daily consumption of petrol in the Valley has dropped to 280 KL now. That has made things easier for us,” Dhungel stated. During the crisis, the daily consumption levels had reached as much as 400 KL a day.
While the importing of fuel through Raxaul, the largest import point, is going on smoothly, the NOC is also storing some 15 to 20 percent of its daily imports in its tanks in Amlekhgunj and other depots. It has also deployed an additional 20 tankers to bring in fuel from Barauni every day for building the stock, according to Dhungel.
As a result of this additional effort, the NOC now has a petrol stock of 700 KL in Amlekhgunj and 200 KL in Pokhara.
Depots in Biratnagar and Janakpur are also receiving fuel, for local sale and for replenishing their stock, directly from Barauni. “Their stock-situation is sound as well, and consumers will not face any problems, even if strikes and other problems were to occur in the next few days,” said the NOC official.
