Nepal Oil Corporation urges not to hoard gas cylinders

KATHMANDU:- The Nepal Oil Corporation has assured the public that the supply of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) remains normal across the country and urged consumers not to purchase cylinders unnecessarily.

Issuing a public notice on Saturday, the corporation said that despite media reports claiming a shortage of cooking gas in the market, its records show that LPG is being supplied daily in line with the demand.

The corporation said that it had already made arrangements for the sale and distribution of fully filled 14.2-kilogram LPG cylinders following its decision on July 15, 2026.

However, it said that some consumers have complained about difficulties in obtaining gas after the introduction of the new cylinder distribution system.

The NOC requested all LPG bottling industries to ensure smooth and adequate market supply.

It also instructed dealers to give priority to household consumers and maintain records of buyers, including their names, addresses and contact numbers, to ensure systematic distribution.

According to Manoj Kumar Thakur, spokesperson for the NOC, more than 100 LPG bullets are currently being loaded and dispatched daily from the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).

“There is no problem importing LPG from IOC. More than 49,000 tonnes of LPG entered Nepal in July. Of this, around 26,500 tonnes entered during the last 15 days of the Nepali month of Saun. This shows that there is no need to worry about the supply of cooking gas,” he told The Rising Nepal.

However, he said that demand for LPG had increased in recent days after the NOC resumed supplying fully filled LPG cylinders.

“The demand for LPG declined over the last four months—Chaitra, Baisakh, Jeth and Asar—when the NOC distributed half-filled cooking gas cylinders. After it started supplying fully filled cylinders from July 15, consumers rushed to refill their empty cylinders, creating temporary demand pressure,” he said.

The monthly demand for LPG stood at around 32,000 to 38,000 tonnes over the past four months, compared to the normal monthly consumption of 45,000 to 46,000 tonnes.

He urged consumers to purchase LPG only when necessary instead of rushing to refill all their empty cylinders at once, so that supplies remain available for those who need them most. This shortfall has now created additional pressure on demand, he added.

To ease supply pressure in the Kathmandu Valley, the corporation has also arranged for the sale and distribution of cylinders of Nepal Gas, HP Gas, Everest Gas, Sugam Gas and Shreeram Gas from its Teku office starting from Saturday, between 11:00 am and 5:00 pm.

The cylinders will be distributed through the respective gas companies.

The corporation has asked consumers who fail to obtain LPG cylinders to contact its hotline at 01-5971902 during office hours.

Stating that the transportation and distribution of LPG are continuing without disruption and will remain regular in the coming days, the NOC appealed to consumers to buy gas only as required and not to hoard cylinders.