INDIAN Oil Corporation (IOC) is planning to open its second auto LPG dispensing station (ALDS) in Chandigarh and eight more such refilling stations in Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir soon, said sources.
IOC’s first auto gas dispenser has been operating in Sector 34, Chandigarh, for the last two years. In the first year it did not get a very positive response and on an average sold only 16-18 metric tonnes of gas per month. However, sale has picked up in the second year and now almost 80 metric tonnes of gas is being sold per month, which is more than four times in the first year.
Apart from this station, the only other auto gas dispenser in the city belongs to Bharat Petroleum Corporation in Sector 22.
Looking at the growing demand for auto gas, IOC has decided to open another dispenser in the city in Sector 20 at Kapoor refilling station, said Gurmeet Singh, Chief Manager, LPG, IOC, Chandigarh. Recently, an auto gas dispenser was opened in Jalandhar.
Other major cities of Punjab, including Ludhiana, Patiala, Bathinda and Amritsar, would also be covered by the IOC for opening gas dispensers.
The total share of IOC’s LPG consumption in Punjab is 58 per cent, while it is 26.60 per cent in Jammu and Kashmir and as high as 78.27 per cent in Himachal Pradesh.
At present, the total bottling capacity in Punjab is 414 (thousand metric tonnes per annum) TMTA, while consumption is 408 TMTA.
IOC has two bottling plants at present in Punjab in Nabha and Jalandhar with a capacity of 211 TMTA which cater to Punjab and Chandigarh. The IOC has plants of 22 TMTA capacity each in Una, Baddi and Jammu, which look after demands of Himachal Pradesh and J&K. The capacity of the Jalandhar bottling plant is planned to be increased to 188 TMTA, said sources in the IOC.
This will allow this plant to fill 1.32 crore cylinders per year, as compared to 1.02 crore cylinders at present, said Gurmeet Singh.
Posted By Staff Reporter
in Punjab News
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