Transparent cylinder gets Oil Min nod

Transparent fibre glass cylinder would soon be reality in the country as the oil ministry has given a go ahead to all three...

Transparent fibre glass cylinder would soon be reality in the country as the oil ministry has given a go ahead to all three state owned oil marketing companies including Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum to introduce this.

The oil ministry’s nod would further speed up the process of launching this product in the country. Earlier despite knowing the utility of the composite cylinder, the three oil companies could not do much due a large number of formalities involved in the project.

The ministry sources said, “In a communique to three companies, the ministry gave in principle approval to introduce composite cylinder for domestic LPG supplies with a rider that there would be no subsidy element in this.”The in principal approval of the ministry means that the companies can start work on the project and other formalities can be completed in due course of time.

In order to launch, this product, first and foremost the government requires to amend the LPG (Regulation of Supply & Distribution) Order as there is the provision of marketing only metal cylinder for LPG supplies. Section 2 (c) of the order defines cylinder as a metal container utilised for storing liquefied petroleum gas conforming to the specifications laid down in schedule II and III.

Apart from amending the definition of a cylinder, there is also a need to add new specifications to the composite cylinder in Schedules appended to the order. There are other formalities which include explosive approvals and nod from Bureau of Indian Standards.

Oil ministry sources added, “The estimated security deposit for the composite cylinder would be around Rs 4,000 per unit. The consumers opting for this product would not get any subsidy and they will have to pay market price for refilling the cylinder.”