Nepal ends NOC monopoly over petroleum import

Ending decades of monopoly by the state-run oil company, Nepal has allowed the import and sale of petroleum products by the private sector in an effort to help ease fuel supplies in the Himalayan nation. Announcing a major step towards liberalizing petroleum trade on the day when the government hiked up fuel prices, the authorities here issued guidelines for allowing the private sector to import and sell petroleum products in the country. “Interested private companies can import fuel from any part of the world and sell at their own prices,” said Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) Chairman Purushottam Ojha, adding that the quality of the products would, however, be monitored by the government. The NOC hiked the price of petroleum products and cooking gas by around 20% to adjust with the rise in international prices and to cover up losses. (June 10, 2008)