KATHMANDU: Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has boosted the supply of petroleum products to Nepal with shipments reaching near pre-embargo levels. State-owned oil monopoly Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) said supplies of diesel, petrol, kerosene, aviation fuel and cooking gas had swelled during the weekend with IOC issuing fuel even on Indian public holidays.
Earlier, NOC Managing Director Gopal Bahadur Khadka had said that India didn’t seem to be interested in increasing the supply above 70 percent of normal times. IOC has been issuing about 2,300 kilolitres petrol, diesel, kerosene and aviation fuel daily from its Raxaul depot, NOC Director Mukunda Ghimire said.
According to NOC, Nepal has been receiving 53 bullets of cooking gas daily. Before the blockade, daily supplies of petroleum products amounted to 2,500 kilolitres and cooking gas 55-60 bullets.
NOC received 2,600 kilolitres of petroleum products on Saturday. Shipments of petrol reached 496 kilolitres, diesel 1,009 kilolitres and aviation fuel 400 kilolitres as of Sunday afternoon. Likewise, India has increased the supply of cooking gas. According to Ghimire, 50 bullets arrived on Thursday, 71 bullets on Friday and 38 bullets on Saturday.
The increase in shipments has allowed NOC to distribute more fuel in the market. Ghimire said they were distributing 500 kilolitres each of petrol and diesel in the Kathmandu Valley daily. The valley’s daily gasoline requirement amounts to 350 kilolitres of petrol and 450 kilolitres of diesel, but panic buying has strained supplies. NOC said it would be distributing fuel even on the three consecutive public holidays that start Monday for the convenience of motorists.
