“We are gradually increasing the supplies and hope that supplies will be normal by Tuesday,” Shiva Prasad Pudasaini, spokesperson for NOC told Republica.[break]
NOC has increased the number of tankers plying along the Barauni-Amlekhgunj route to over 100 to shore up petroleum supply to Amlekhgunj depot to cope with the short supply in Raxaul depot, which is undergoing maintenance for the last few weeks.
“We have mobilized 35 tankers along the Barauni-Biratnagar route to ferry petroleum products route so as to make up for the supply deficit from Raxaul,” said Pudasaini. Pudasaini said NOC is planning to distribute 1,000kl of petrol and around 5,000kl of diesel on Sunday. Supplies of petroleum products from Amlekhagunj to the capital hovers around 1,000kl per day.
Following the murder of a tanker help on duty, the number of tankers transporting fuel along the Barauni-Amlekhgunj route had decreased to 40 last week creating a huge supply deficit of petroleum products in the capital.
Tanker operators had brought halted transporting fuel for three days last week demanding security and compensation to the family of the deceased worker. Though they agreed to return to work, not all of them have resumed services.
According to Pudasaini, the total number of tankers operating from Barauni and Raxaul to Amlekhagunj has reached 125. “We can now manage supplies as panic buying has subsided and supplies have increased,” said Pudasaini.
Acting Managing Director of NOC Suresh Kumar Agrawal said petroleum supplies would be affected if the government does not provide loan to pay its dues to the Indian Oil Corporation soon enough.
The newly formed government has assured NOC a loan of Rs 1 billion and Rs 800 million in VAT refund at the earliest. The loss-making NOC currently owes Rs 27.5 billion in loans to various financial institutions, while its accumulated loss stands at Rs 23 billion. NOC´s projected loss for the month of March alone stands at Rs 732.8 million.
NOC currently suffers a loss of Rs 5.43 per liter of diesel and Rs 513.14 per 14.2 cooking gas cylinder. It earns a profit of Rs 2.27 per liter of petrol, Rs 9.16 per liter of kerosene and Rs 24.97 per liter of aviation fuel.
Agrawal said IOC, the sole supplier of petroleum products to Nepal, would further decrease supplies if NOC fails to pay dues on time. Import of petroleum had gone down to 102,000kl in February from 119,000kl recorded in the earlier month.
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