20 firms submit bids to supply oil

Kathmandu October 12- A total of 20 companies have submitted bids to supply petroleum products to Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC).The three-day deadline for the expression of interest (EoI) invited by the state-owned oil monopoly ended on Sunday. It has asked interested firms to supply 200KL each of diesel, kerosene and aviation fuel, and 100KL of petrol and 100 metric tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

With Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) restricting fuel supply for the last three weeks, NOC was forced to look for alternatives to address the demand during the upcoming festivals when the Kathmandu valley sees mass departure of the people to their hometowns.

The NOC Spokesperson Deepak Baral said the bidding firms included both domestic and international. “A number of Indian firms are also expected to have submitted the bids,” he said. Interestingly, even IOC had emailed the NOC expressing its interest to supply fuel under the EoI, an NOC official said. “We are not sure whether the IOC has submitted the bid.” Baral said the NOC would open the closed bids on Monday by forming a committee. “The committee will then shortlist the supplier,” he said.

Despite having a business contract, IOC has not been providing adequate petroleum to NOC, citing security concerns over the Tarai unrest. The government has, however, maintained it is ready to provide security to the vehicles on the Nepali territory. Source:  The Kathmandu Post