Kathmandu — After the successful testing of petrol and kerosene, the formal distribution of petrol has begun through the Raxaul-Amlekhganj petroleum pipeline. Nepal Oil Corporation conducted tests by importing 15,500 kiloliters of petrol in two phases and 1,000 kiloliters of kerosene in one phase before officially starting sales and distribution from Monday.
Petrol imported through the pipeline has been sent to Pokhara and Biratnagar, according to Pralayankar Acharya, head of the Nepal Oil Corporation’s provincial office in Amlekhganj.
“On Monday, we formally dispatched seven tankers of petrol to Pokhara and ten to Biratnagar, Now, daily distribution has begun,” Acharya said.
Each tanker has a capacity of 20,000 kiloliters of petrol. According to him, approximately 340,000 liters of petrol were distributed using 17 tankers.
Previously, only diesel was imported through the pipeline. However, on October 3 (Asoj 17), a test was conducted by importing 5,500 kiloliters of petrol. Following this, 1,000 kiloliters of kerosene was also imported. Later, another 10,000 kiloliters of petrol was brought in for further testing.
According to Acharya, formal distribution began on Monday after the completion of the second-phase construction, including the depot, loading bay, and laboratory. However, petrol will not be imported daily through the pipeline. The pipeline has the capacity to import 300 kiloliters of petrol per hour.
The petrol storage tank at Amlekhganj has a capacity of 17,490 kiloliters. “Daily imports would create storage issues. Therefore, we import petrol only when the tank level drops by 3,000 to 4,000 kiloliters, but distribution takes place daily,” Acharya explained.
The much-anticipated Nepal-India cross-border petroleum pipeline project was officially inaugurated on September 10, 2019 (Bhadra 24, 2076). Former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi jointly pressed a switch to inaugurate the Amlekhganj-Motihari petroleum pipeline.
In the first phase, diesel imports have been ongoing. Nepal Oil Corporation claims that the pipeline has eliminated technical losses during transportation. The corporation aimed to import petrol and kerosene in the second phase. For this, an agreement was made for a joint investment between Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Nepal Oil Corporation.
Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) is set to invest NPR 1.54 billion, while Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) will invest INR 750 million. The budget includes agreements for the construction of two petrol storage tanks, 24 refilling stations, a laboratory, a firefighting system, two transmix tanks for mixed fuel storage, a “firewater” tank for depot security, and other necessary infrastructure.
IOC was responsible for the construction of tanks, refilling stations, a state-of-the-art laboratory, a firefighting system, and other infrastructure. For the infrastructure development, IOC had assigned the work to the Indian company Likhita International. The project was originally scheduled to be completed by March 2024.
After repeated follow-ups and directives, the construction was finally completed. Accordingly, successful testing was also carried out. However, there was still a delay in operation,” a source from Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) said.
“NOC had planned to start importing petrol and kerosene through the pipeline from December, but it was not successful.” The source further stated that although NOC repeatedly requested India for an inauguration date, there was a delay in setting the schedule from the Indian side.
The Amlekhganj fuel depot has been operating manually for over three and a half decades. With the arrival of petrol through the pipeline, it is now being received and transferred to other offices via a digital (automation) system.
“At the local level, distribution is still done using the old technology. However, petrol received through the pipeline is loaded using a digital process,” said Acharya. “Within a month or two, we will fully transition to automation.”
To achieve full automation in loading, 24 “loading bays” have been constructed. These 24 bays contain 36 filling points. Of these, seven bottom-loading and eight top-loading points are designated for petrol. Diesel has four bottom-loading and 14 top-loading points. The corporation has also mentioned that there is one bottom-loading point for kerosene.
Source: Kantipur
