According to Union minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan, the LPG consumer base in the state will be enhanced to 33 per cent of the households this year from 28 per cent at present. This will be increased further to 50 per cent of the households in next three years, he added. Pradhan was reviewing the performance of the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Hindusthan Petroleum Corporation (HPC) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPC) and their marketing networks in Odisha.
"At present the national average of LPG consumer base is 60 per cent. It will be our endeavor to bring Odisha at par with national average," the minister said. Three new product pipelines would be constructed between Paradip-Ranchi, Paradip-Durgapur and Paradip -Raipur. These new pipelines will carry petroleum products to most parts of the state.
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The coastal centric distribution network of LPG, petrol, and diesel, will be widened and expanded to the nook and corner of the state to achieve the national average, the Union minister said. Similarly, the existing network of LPG distribution points would be increased to 750 from 404 at present in next three years.
The new depots, product pipelines, LPG terminals and imported LPG terminals would entail a combined investment over Rs 4,500 crores, Pradhan said.
The Berhampur terminal would be modernised and a new depot would come up in Bhubaneswar. In addition, more depots will be opened in south and western Odisha. Balasore depot will be modernised under new expansion plan, he added.
The minister informed that LPG distribution centres will be established within 15 km radius in all gram panchayats of Odisha. The new expansion plan, in toto, would create jobs for about 5,000 persons. Now more than 10,000 persons are employed in various petro-product projects of the Central oil companies in the state.
Reviewing the petrol pump network in the state, Pradhan stated that 300 more petrol pumps will be added in next three years to the present network of 1,449 pumps. Mentioning that the current network expansion will earn additional revenue for the state, he said, the Odisha government is getting Rs 2,500 crore revenue now from the oil sector, in terms of VAT and entry tax.