Scourge of LPG shortage likely to resurface
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, June 28 2018: In view of the dilapidated condition of Imphal-Dimapur highway which is interspersed with many sinking zones, the State may face shortage of LPG in case there is heavy rainfall for any considerable length of time.

Sources at IOCL's Sekmai LPG bottling plant and Malom oil depot said that the State would face shortage of LPG if the State receives heavy rainfall for days continuously like last year but the problem would not be that much acute for petrol, diesel and SK Oil.

There is strong possibility of landslides along National Highways and sinking of highway sections if there is continuous heavy rainfall for days.

If the highways are blocked, transportation of petroleum products would be obviously suspended, said the sources.

It is LPG which would be hit first when transportation of petroleum products is suspended.

But there would not be any acute shortage of petrol and diesel.

Scourge of LPG shortage likely to resurface

LPG would be hit first because the storage capacity of Sekmai bottling plant is not adequate and the number of bullet TTs engaged in transporting bulk LPG to the plant is only 170, said the sources.

Suspension of three successive trips would affect LPG supply to consumers.

On the other hand, the storage capacity of Malom depot is much larger as compared to the Chingmeirong depot.

Moreover, the fleet of oil tankers engaged in transporting fuel from different loading points located outside the State is quite large now, informed the sources.

At present, around 720 TTs are engaged in transporting fuel to Malom depot.

Disbursement of fuel from standing TTs without touching storage tanks last for some days.

However, there is no such advantage for LPG on account of the limited number of bullet TTs.

Moreover, the contract signed with the 170 bullet TTs for transportation of bulk LPG to Sekmai expired in January this year.

But their contract is being extended successively.

With the expiry of the contract, a normal tender was floated in January.

But the tender process takes a very long time as it is not confined to the State but extends throughout the country.

The tender floated in January is still in technical evaluation Stage.

The next stage would be financial evaluation and it would further take a long time.

Nonetheless, the officials concerned have been working to complete the tender process by August.

However, if the tender process cannot be completed by August and if there is continuous heavy rainfall for days, there is a strong possibility of the scourge of LPG shortage resurfacing again, said the sources.