Gas in short supply

September 4, 2012 (Centre spread) THE country has been hit by severe shortage of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) with long queues at gas filling stations as domestic and commercial users make frantic efforts to secure the product. But the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has given an assurance that the “pockets of shortage” will be over in the next few days. In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, the Public Relations Manager of the NPA, Mr Yaro Kasambata, said the regular daily supply of 800 metric tonnes of LPG had been increased to 1,200 metric tonnes in order to meet the increasing public demand for LPG, reports Mabel Aku Baneseh. He attributed the pockets of LPG shortage to unavailability of enough infrastructure to supply LPG to meet the increasing market demand. He said a number of measures were being implemented to ensure the continuous uninterrupted supply of gas to the entire country. “For instance, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Ministry of Environment and Science have given the go-ahead for the implementation a project where LPG will be discharged from vessels at the Takoradi Harbour to bulk vehicles for onward delivery to the market,” Mr Kasambata said. As part of the decentralisation process to ensure regular gas supply to the market, Mr Kasambata said two oil companies namely Redfins Limited and Fueltrade Limited had built facilities to provide extra daily supply of LPG. For instance, Redfins is expected to supply 800 metric tonnes of LPG while Fueltrade is expected to provide a week’s storage of LPG. Mr Kasambata said Redfins was expected to deliver storage and loading facilities, adding that both companies would start operation in early November, 2012. He expressed the hope that the provision of these extra facilities would eventually bring an end to the perennial gas shortage in the country.