20 firms express interest to supply petro products to Nepal

NOC had announced global tender to supply petroleum products for the first time in its history on Thursday after IOC, which enjoyed monopoly in Nepal in the past four decades, failed to supply petroleum products to Nepal for two weeks. It had sought proposal from interested firms to supply 200 kiloliters of diesel, 100 kiloliters of petrol, 100 kiloliters of kerosene, 200 kiloliters of aviation fuel and 100 tons of LP Gas on a daily basis for two weeks. "We will study all the proposals of all the firms, rates quoted by them, and the fuel supply process on Monday," Baral said, adding, "We will table the proposals in NOC board on Monday." Baral told Republica that only a few were business proposals as most of the bidding firms have made inquiries only. After NOC announced global tender, IOC, which had stopped supply fuel to NOC altogether, requested NOC to send Nepali tankers for refilling. However, NOC has yet to respond to IOC's request. "IOC has violated commercial agreement signed with us many times. We cannot trust it just because it has made commitment to resume supply," Baral said. "We will send our tankers for refilling only after we become assured that our tankers will be loaded." IOC's reluctance to supply fuel to Nepal has not only crippled normal life, but has also hit national economy hard. While many industries have stopped operation for the past two months due to shortage of raw materials and disruption in supply network, some are already on the verge of closure.