Date:10/02/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/02/10/stories/2007021001771400.htm

National

Oil marketing companies go hi-tech to check adulteration and diversion

Sujay Mehdudia

Installation of GPS to monitor movement of oil tankers

Smart card system for delivery of kerosene

With markers, adulteration even up to one p.c. can be detected

NEW DELHI: To tackle adulteration of kerosene, petrol and diesel, prevent its diversion and black marketing, the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have decided to adopt hi-tech measures: install Global Positioning System (GPS), have a smart card system for delivery of kerosene through Public Distribution System (PDS) and introduce marker for kerosene and naphtha.

Major OMCs, including Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum, are installing GPS on all their truck tankers carrying petrol, diesel and kerosene to retail outlets to allow monitoring of such trucks and detect any deviation in the movement plan.

Hindustan Petroleum has installed GPS in around 160 company-owned tanker trucks. IOC has plans to cover 19,500, Hindustan Petroleum 6,000 and Bharat Petroleum 4,000 tanker trucks each by March 31 this year.

All the OMCs have been advised to introduce the marker system in PDS distributed kerosene.

The marker will be put in kerosene in all depots and naphtha would be covered in the next phase. With the marker adulteration even up to one per cent can be detected.

Preventing diversion

According to Petroleum Secretary M.S. Srinivasan, the marker was to prevent diversion of kerosene for adulteration and to ensure its availability to targeted beneficiaries.

He said the Marketing Discipline Guidelines (MDG) had been amended by providing a special chapter on blending of marker in potential adulterants. The latest initiative, he said, was part of the Government's efforts to weed out malpractices in the distribution of petroleum products so that consumers got a quality product.

2,000 field officers

In order to stabilise the system, the supplier of the marker Authentix of U.K. has trained about 2,000 field officers of public sector OMCs and made available test kits at all locations.

The marker suppliers carried out checks in about 10,000 retail outlets through a third party, resulting in about 134 sample failures during December and January period.

The dealers did not allow the team to carry out testing in 72 cases.

In two cases in Uttar Pradesh and in one case in Bihar, the testing party was threatened.

The OMCs have been advised to complete automation at retail outlets selling more than 200 kilolitres a month by the end of March this year. OMCs plan to cover 2,925 retail outlets by March this year and another 4,935 outlets by the end of this year.