Petro traders warn of halting fuel supply
KATHMANDU, APR 01 -
Three associations of petroleum traders have threatened to halt fuel supply from April 7 if the government does not scrap the Petroleum and Gas Transaction (Regulatory) Orders 2013.
The warning from Nepal Petroleum Dealers National Association (NPDNA), Nepal Petroleum Transport Entrepreneurs and Nepal LPG industry Association (NLPGIA) came immediately after the government called them for a meeting to discuss the matter.
“We have called them for a meeting on Monday,” said Deepak Subedi, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies.
A joint struggle committee of the associations has also decided to hold protests in Hetauda, Biratnagar and Nepaljung on Tuesday and in Thankot on Wednesday to pressure the government to roll back the orders.
The associations have accused the government of not holding consultations with stakeholders concerned before introducing the orders. They have said the new regulation will force small players out of the business in favour of big players.
The government published the orders in the Nepal Gazette earlier this month, opening the doors for the private sector in crude oil refinery and petroleum trading. The orders have also ended the Nepal Oil Corporation’s monopoly in the petroleum business.
According to petroleum and gas dealers, it will be difficult for them to follow the “complex” provisions such as application fees. The new regulation has set the application fees for a refinery installation licence at Rs 500,000, while that for a petroleum business licence has been fixed Rs 100,000. Likewise, approval licence will cost Rs 5 million and it should be renewed every five years, which will cost Rs 500,000.
The minimum paid-up capital required for refining companies, petroleum trading firms, LPG importing firms and LPG bottling plants has been set at Rs 20 billion, Rs 10 billion, Rs 5 billion and Rs 50 million, respectively. As per the orders, private companies dealing in petrol, diesel and kerosene should install a depot with an installing capacity of 20,000 kl, while LPG bottling plants should have a stock capacity of 500 tonnes.
“None of the gas companies can maintain paid-up capital of Rs 50 million within a year,” Khagendra Bohora, coordinator of the joint committee, said. “New rules like storage capacity of 500 tonnes, refining capacity of 250 tonnes per day and compulsion of setting up factories five kilometres away from towns are impossible in the country where there are 55 gas industries and the monthly LPG demand is 18,000 tonnes.”
The regulation also has defined a company having at least three tankers as a transportation company. “The regulation cannot be the same for transportation companies having three tankers and those having 100 tankers,” Bohora said. “Since there aren’t any laboratories in the country which can find out the accurate chemical composition of petroleum products, the decision to allow a single company to import, store, wholesale and retail petroleum products will put issues relating to quality at stakes.”
Nepal LPG Gas Industry Association President Shiva Prasad Ghimire said they were ready to upgrade infrastructure at their bottling plants at current location.
Source: ekantipur
