A difficulty is coming to the fore regarding the privatization of BPCL. At present, it has 8.4 crore LPG customers, of which 2.1 crore are under the Ujjwala scheme. The company does not produce enough gas to meet the needs of all the consumers.
BPCL has 21 million Ujjwala customers
BPCL disinvestment: A two-decade-old LPG supply order restricting the supply of LPG gas connections produced in the country only to state-owned oil companies has allowed Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) to continue selling subsidized LPG gas connections after privatization. An obstacle has been put in front of the scheme of giving exemption to keep.
Two government officials with knowledge of the matter said that legal opinion has now been sought to ascertain whether the allocation of LPG produced by companies like ONGC and GAIL to BPCL after privatization would be correct. At present, BPCL has more than 84 million domestic LPG Gas Connection customers. Of these, there are 21 million Ujjwala customers. For this, the domestic gas production of the company’s own oil-refining units is not enough.
BPCL like other oil marketing companies buys LPG from state-owned companies like ONGC and GAIL India Limited as well as private companies like Reliance Industries Limited.
Gas can be sold only to indigenous company
The LPG (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Order, 2020, popularly known as the LPG Control Order, 2000, applies only to government-owned oil marketing companies – Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Provisions for sale of indigenously produced LPG to BPCL. This order bars LPG gas produced by companies like ONGC and GAIL from being supplied to private companies. Private sector LPG sellers, called parallel LPG marketers, have to use imported gas.
government is taking legal advice
In view of the shortage of LPG in the country, the Control Order, 2000 was issued. Officials said that once BPCL is privatized, this order will bar ONGC and GAIL from selling LPG to BPCL. Therefore, the government is seeking legal opinion on this issue.
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