NOC reduces fuel supply

Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) — the state oil monopoly — has failed to supply adequate petroleum products to dealers. It adopted ‘short supply’ policy after its losses reached Rs 702.1 million in July. NOC has been releasing less petroleum products — kerosene, diesel and petrol — said an employee of the state enterprise. According to the employee, distribution of petroleum products has been affected since the last week after the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority put NOC and petroleum dealers under its scanner. The commission inspected a few petroleum dealers last week and found some to be cheating in quantity. It had discovered that some pumps were supplying between 25ml to 100ml less fuel. Similarly, it has also been investigating NOC depots and supply channels. There is some problem in petroleum supply, said petroleum dealer Saroj Raj Pandey. “Usually, Kathmandu valley faces petroleum shortage on Sunday because NOC does not issue adequate petroleum products,” he said, adding that in some cases petroleum dealers also demand less because of low demand on Saturday. Therefore, short supply is usually noticed on Sunday, said Pandey. According to him, the actual situation regarding the short supply will be clear in two to three days. “I have not noticed supply cut in such a large scale, so there will not be a problem anytime soon,” he said. It will be clear on Monday, he added. Currently, NOC has been using its stock to maintain supply. NOC depots have capacity to maintain smooth supply for a week.