NRL to produce more LPG by 8% to prevent any crisis during an ongoing nationwide lockdown

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) has decided to increase its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) production by around 8 percent with an aim to prevent any crisis of the commodity during the ongoing nationwide lockdown.

The company is now operating with the bare minimum staff manning its operations in its refinery and two marketing terminals at Numaligarh and Siliguri. It is strictly following all safety measures for its employees in view of the outbreak of coronavirus.

“The prime objective of the move is to ensure availability of essential transportation of fuel, motor spirit and high-speed diesel and LPG, the scarcity of which would affect common masses. NRL is, in fact, maximising its LPG production, so that there is no scarcity of the commodity if refinery production has to be reduced in view of lower demand of motor spirit and high speed diesel,” a source in the company said.

In 2018, the NRL had augmented and upgraded its LPG bottling plant to “contribute significantly” towards Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), a flagship scheme of the Centre that offers free gas connections to the rural poor.

The refinery has augmented its LPG-bottling facility from 10,000 tonnes to 42,000 tonnes per annum so that it can contribute significantly towards the flagship scheme launched in May 2016 to provide clean fuel by way of LPG cylinders to BPL households and improve health of women through smokeless kitchens.

According to the Central Government’s guidelines, public utilities such as petroleum, CNG, LPG, PNG have been exempted from the lockdown to deal with the situation.

On other hand, the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has assured that there will be no scarcity of LPG cylinders in the north-eastern States during the nationwide lockdown. All the 11 LPG bottling plants of IOC across the Northeast are currently operating at full capacity, following all safety protocols. These plants will continue to do so ensuring continuous supply of domestic LPG cylinders to the customers.

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