NOC strike due to Barauni factor
Kathmandu   08-Aug-2010

The staff of the oil-monopoly claimed that temperature variation between IndianOil's (IOC) Barauni depot and Nepal Oil Corporation's (NOC) Amlekhgunj depot has caused reduction in fuel quantity, leading to losses running into millions of rupees.

Stopping fuel imports through Barauni refinery has been one of the main demands of the NOC's unions in their 13-point memorandum and a reason behind their strike last week, said the unions.

"When the temperature decreases by a single degree, it leads to a loss of nine litres of fuel. Since, there is a difference of almost 10 degrees between Amlekhgunj and Barauni, each tanker registers almost 90 of fuel loss," said Shiva Adhikari, general secretary, Nepal Oil Corporation Employees' Organisation.

"That is the reason why Amlekhgunj depot had registered an unaccounted loss of Rs 29.3 million, which led to the suspension of the entire staff," he claimed. A high-level probe last December reported that officials at Amlekhgunj depot were engaged in pilferage, leading to removal and suspension of staff. The case is still under investigation by the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA).

After a fire at IOC's fuel storage and distribution unit at Jaipur in October 2009, Gorakhpur depot, which was set up to cater exclusively to Nepal, is being used for fuel distribution to other Indian cities. This made the fuel available for supply to Nepal limited. As an alternative, IOC proposed the supply from its Barauni refinery to Amlekhgaunj depot of NOC.

Digambar Jha, Executive Director, NOC, said currently there is no alternative to Barauni until the oil-pipeline is completed which can take a minimum of three years.

"As the demand for diesel alone has doubled in the last few years and Raxual can not cope up with additional demand, NOC has to take supplies from Barauni," he said. "The average day requirement for diesel is 70,000 kilo litre (KL) now. This used to be 28,000 KL a year ago. The average requirement for petrol is 14,000 KL," he said.

He said that the corporation has already factored in additional price components. "Since, Barauni is farther than Raxaul, transportation will cost more. But we have no choice," he said adding that due to an increase in demand of cooking gas, NOC will be bringing in LPG from Haldiya and Mathura. "Our goal is to meet consumers' demand for fuels. And, we are obliged to provide for them no matter from where," he said.

Jha did not offer any comments on the loss of Rs 29.3 million at Amlekhgunj depot.