KATHMANDU, Feb 27: Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has increased imports of cooking gas by a notable quantity citing the upcoming election.
Managing Director Chandika Prasad Bhatta said the NOC on Tuesday imported the largest quantity of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) this year. According to him, the NOC issued purchase delivery orders to import 138 bullets of the LPG in the day.
This includes import of 36 bullets each from Barauni and Mathura depots, 40 from Paradeep, 24 from Durgapur and 2 from Haldiya depot of Indian Oil Corporation. These make up a quantity equivalent to about 173,800 cylinders.
Expiry date of LPG cylinders lacks monitoring
Bhatta expressed his commitment of making a smooth supply of the essential during the election period. “There is no shortage of cooking gas now and LPG is easily available to buyers,” he added.
Despite the NOC’s claim, the households in many locations across the country have been struggling to get the cooking gas for the past few weeks. A gas depot in Budhanilkantha said the consumers still have to wait over a week to receive the cooking gas due to the short supply by a number of bottling plants.
As per the NOC officials, the general public, misled by rumors, has created an artificial shortage of cooking gas at present. Although the NOC has been urging the consumers time and again not to stockpile cooking gas unnecessarily, the situation has not been better off.
Nepali markets often see shortages of essentials even without a full supply breakdown. Weaker supervision and coordination, and a habit of reacting late by concerned authorities keep repeating such problems.
The gas-related industries in the country imported 47,304 metric tonnes of gas from Indian Oil Corporation in January this year. Previously, 47,264 metric tons of gas were imported in November, 2025 and 48, 531 metric tonnes in December the same year, shows the NOC records.
