Hemkund Gases LPG bottling plant, based at Virazouma, Chümoukedima was inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas, Rameshwar Teli on August 13. (Morung Photo)
Petroleum MoS says Nagaland should convert oil reserves into revenue
Morung Express News
Dimapur | August 13
A private player has entered the cooking gas distribution sector in Nagaland. Hemkund Gases LPG bottling plant, based at Virazouma, Chümoukedima, was inaugurated by Union Minister of State (MoS) for Petroleum & Natural Gas, Rameshwar Teli on August 13.
The plant in Virazouma has a bulk storage capacity of around 40 metric tonnes. It is the third such unit in the country for Hemkund Gases, which is a part of Hemkund Group, a company, which started out as a manufacturer of LPG cylinders and valves for the LPG PSUs before diversifying into the LPG bottling and distribution in 2015.
According to Hemkund Group’s Managing Director, Zorawar Singh, the company’s LPG arm has presence in Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand.
As an “LPG parallel marketeer” (parallel to PSUs), Singh said that the target is to expand the reach of LPG in Nagaland by covering unreached pockets. “According to our survey, we found that inspite of having (other) companies here, there are still pockets where domestic is not available and there is some gap, we intent to fill that. And of course, for commercial it is also there,” he said.
He added that with the entry of a new player, consumers would also benefit price-wise from the anticipated competitive pricing. He though declined to give figures stating that it would depend on the market dynamics. “What we have seen in the regions where we have worked is that, commercial (LPG cyclinder) price has really come down. For domestic, it might remain the same or in the same ranges,” he added.
No tentative date was given as to starting distribution but he said that it has already started the process of roping in distributors/dealers. On the registration/connection process and the associated fee, he said, “We intent to make it much easier. We can’t be charging more because the consumers won’t come to us.”
Queried on the safety aspects, he said that the company would not have got the licence to run the LPG business if it did not meet the safety standards.
Minister of State, Rameshwar Teli said that he came to inaugurate the plant despite it being a private company “because we want to see the perception of the people changed when it comes to industrialization in Dimapur.” Besides, he said that it coincided with the Azadi ka amrit mahotsav.
While stating that Hemkund Group has been associated with the LPG sector for the past 30 years, he said that it played an important role in the Ujjwala Yojana by facilitating HPCL, BP and others in the mission.
Teli, who represents the Dibrugarh Parliamentary Constituency in Assam, further remarked that Nagaland has much to do as far as exploiting the petroleum reserve was concerned, while referencing the revenue that would have come the state’s way.
According to him, the Nagaland state government should start exploring means to monetising the oil reserves.
