New Delhi: Oil and gas PSUs have imported 13,740 MT of liquid oxygen so far to address the acute shortage of oxygen availability in the country, said the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on Tuesday. "These companies are also importing liquid Oxygen. 900 MT of liquid Oxygen is being imported on Gratis basis from Bahrain, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Thailand. A part of the consignment has already been received while a portion of it will be received shortly. In addition, 12,840 MT of liquid Oxygen is being imported on a commercial basis, taking the total number of imports to 13,740 MT," said an official statement.
"As the responsible corporate entities, Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) under the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) are extending their helping hands to support the nation in its efforts to combat the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this regard, they are specifically working to find transportation solutions for liquid Oxygen," said the ministry.
Presently, there are 12 tankers and 20 ISO containers with a capacity of 650 MT. The figure is going to improve substantively, with the numbers likely to go up to 26 tankers and 117 ISO containers by the end of this month, with the capacity of 2,314 MT. 95 ISO containers are being purchased, with a capacity of 1,940 metric tonnes. Orders have already been placed for 30 ISO containers, with a capacity of 650 MT, while negotiations are underway for the remaining containers.
Orders have been placed for 10,000 cylinders of 40/50 litre capacity and 300 cylinders of larger capacity (150 of 500 litres and 150 of 450 litres). Dispatch of these cylinders is likely to begin soon.
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