Gas Shortage in Nepal: Three Key Causes and When Supply Will Stabilize
Nepal Oil Corporation claims it is supplying around 120,000 cooking LPG cylinders daily to eliminate the shortage. However, gas vendors say this amount only meets about 60 percent of the demand. According to vendors, consumer pressure has slightly decreased but has not completely subsided. “Demand appears to have dropped by about 40 percent,” says Vinod Kafle, Secretary General of the Gas Dealers Federation. “Yet the pressure is still significant; in some depots, queues of 100 to 150 people are still common.”
Manojkumar Thakur, spokesperson for Nepal Oil Corporation, the agency responsible for gas supply, confirms that approximately 120,000 cylinders arrive daily in the market. The corporation expects the gas shortage to end soon. Devan Chand, President of the Gas Industry Federation, states that over 120,000 cylinders are being distributed daily from the industry. “Currently, there is an increase of 15 to 17 percent in gas imports from India compared to before. While this volume doesn’t immediately cover total supply, demand has decreased. I believe we will see the effects within a week,” he said.
According to Nepal Oil Corporation, 42,500 metric tons of gas were imported from India in the month of Saun (mid-July to mid-August). The spokesperson adds that over 100 gas transportation trucks (bullets) enter Nepal from India daily. Industry expert Devan Chand explains that each gas truck carries 18 metric tons of gas, which can fill over 1,250 cylinders per vehicle. With 100 such trucks arriving daily, it is possible to fill approximately 120,000 cylinders every day.
Nepal Oil Corporation notes that average monthly gas demand in Nepal is 47,000 metric tons, translating to a daily consumption of 1,500 metric tons, or 1.5 million kilograms. Under normal circumstances, vendors report that daily cylinder demand slightly exceeds 100,000. Given this, why do people still queue at gas shops even when 120,000 cylinders are supplied daily? According to the Oil Corporation, industry representatives, and vendors, there are three primary reasons for the ongoing gas shortage.