STC, Escol reach agreement on petroleum gas pricing

The State Trading Corporation (STC) and Escol have reached an agreement after several months of negotiation. According to a senior officer of the body, earlier STC paid Rs 1,284 per tonne of gas storage while now they are paying Rs 475.

In the African region, the per capita gas consumption is 54 kg as currently 95 per cent of homes use household gas. Until now the country has a storage capacity of 5,700 tonnes of gas annually while consumption is 65,000 tonnes, rising by 4 per cent annually.

According to these estimates, the country will consume 125,000 tonnes of gas per year by 2025. The STC had launched a tender for gas cylinders.

The body imports household gas used in kitchens and in industries. The spokesperson of STC said that they launched a fresh tender for the contract which will be wrapped up in late June.

“The process is underway and the ship is carrying the gas. When the ship docks at the port of Mauritius, there is a pipeline that connects the ship to special tanks. We also have tanks that are situated underground. They are owned by Escol,” said the spokesperson.