Nepal’s NOC seeks Rs1 billion loan

Nepal Oil Corp. (NOC) has sought Rs1 billion (US$22.42 million) in loans from the government to beef up its petroleum products inventory, citing political deadlock and a Maoist strike threat that could hit supplies in the days to come. Digambhar Jha, NOC chief, who forwarded a letter to the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, said NOC’s storage tanks across the country have less than two-thirds fuel in stock at present. Given its recent deteriorating cash flow, NOC has said that it would not be able to replenish its inventory from its own resources. NOC has argued that the government loan was needed for building up strategic stocks so that it could continue to maintain supplies in case of a political upheaval. The request from NOC comes at a time when it still owes more than Rs7 billion (US$156.93 million) in loans, borrowed from the government to finance oil imports. (May 12, 2010)