Transparent cylinders for City in pipeline

Transparent cylinders for City in pipeline
From Aditya Raj Das, DH News Service, New Delhi:
The old-fashioned bulky LPG cylinders made of iron will soon be pass for Bangaloreans.

They will have a choice to opt for translucent, lightweight and aesthetically superior gas cylinders to match with modular settings of their kitchens.

Those who opt for such sleek-looking stylish cylinders will have to pay more as there will be no subsidy element in the LPG to be sold in such cylinders.

State-owned oil marketing firm the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has selected Bangalore as one of the few cities to introduce the translucent composite cylinders on a pilot basis.

The government has already given in-principle approval to the public sector oil marketing firms for introduction of translucent composite cylinders for marketing domestic LPG, highly placed sources in the petroleum ministry told Deccan Herald.

The oil marketing firms will be free to fix the price, sources said. Though the IOC has not fixed the date for introduction of translucent composite LPG cylinders, it hopes to hit the market by June this year, industry sources said.

Apart from the IOC, the two other state-owned oil marketing firms — Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum — are also planning to do test marketing in other selected cities.

Initially, the state-owned oil firms would import these translucent cylinders and subsequently they would be manufactured indigenously, the ministry sources said. “They (firms) are in the process of issuing global tenders for import of cylinders,” he added.

Oil marketing firms are keen on introducing the translucent composite cylinders on mass-scale as these are safe, easy to handle and cost-wise cheaper.

Since there will be no subsidy element, the oil firms hope to earn more by selling LPG in the proposed translucent composite cylinders, sources said.

Based on the response of the consumers, the oil firms will expand the reach of the proposed composite cylinders to other parts of the country.

In the wake of growing rise in the cost of selling LPG in conventional iron cylinders, oil firms are also toying with the idea of introducing sleek stainless steel ones.

Steel companies are now holding talks with the state-owned oil companies for introducing the new stainless steel cylinder, which would weigh 8 kg less than the usual 15-kg cylinder, oil industry sources said.

The proposed stainless steel cylinder would have a life of 30 years, 15 years more than the conventional ones.
The Indian Oil Corporation is toying with the idea of introducing the proposed light weight stainless steel LPG cylinders in Bangalore on trail basis, sources said.