Government to provide LPG to Yangon households

The government aims to cut electricity use in Yangon Region with the distribution of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to 150,000 households in December, a senior energy official said on Thursday.

The move was also aimed at reducing the using of wood for cooking in order to conserve the environment, according to Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MOEE) Deputy Permanent Secretary U Htay Aung.

“With these objectives, we plan to distribute LPG first to Yangon Region for 150,000 households,” he said in a press briefing.

Parami Energy Service Co. has just won the rental tender for the state-owned No.1 Refinery (Thanlyin), U Htay Aung said.
“Many companies were interested but as it is not easy to distribute 4000 tons of LPG at one time, only 9 firms competed and Parami Energy Service Co. which submitted the highest price won the tender,” U Aung Myint, Director from Myanma Petrochemical Enterprise (MPE), said.

Parami Energy Service Co. will pay highest yearly rental fees of K6.4 billion, he added.

“Our target is to distribute LPG to 150,000 families by December. Apart from rice cooker, people can use LPG in all kinds of cooking – frying, roasting or boiling,” U Htay Aung said.

There are some LNG importers, importing from Thailand via Myawady to distribute in Yangon. It costs over K1000 a kilogram of LPG.

With an aim for cheap access to the gas, LPG storage tank at Thanlyin refinery was rented out to private firms to store and distribute imported LPG via marine channel, he continued.

“According to our calculation, 4000 tons of LPG is enough for monthly use of 150,000 families,” U Aung Myint said.

But, since storage capacity of the tank is 5500 tonnes, a company can import and store more than 4000 tonnes per month, he said.

MOEE aims to supply LPG for cooking to 1.5 million households by 2020. Private jetties are going to be completed and when ready, LPG market will be more competitive leading to a more affordable price.

 

Sources: Myanmar Times (Image: youtube.com)