(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) The Directorate General for Standards and Metrology (DGSM) at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has decided to do away with the rule of setting the shelf life of LPG cylinders at 15 years. The department is also likely to ask supplier companies to begin branding their cylinders.
With this new rule, the problems of large numbers of cylinders 'expiring', leading to shortages and consequently consumers having to buy new cylinders at exorbitant rates from vendors is expected to end.
DGSM has over the past couple of months held several meetings to discuss amendments to Standards Specification 201, which relates to LPG cylinders and the requirements for filling, transporting, storing and disposal.
A senior official at DGSM confirmed that the 15 year shelf life rule has been scrapped. Specifications are being put in place for companies to test and reuse cylinders that are more than 15 years old.
The official added that the trademark - or the logo - of the company should be stamped on the cylinder in a permanent manner taking into consideration safety requirements. It should be clearly visible and include the company's name. The official added that each company would be responsible for its own cylinders - refilling, maintenance and replacement.
Welcoming the decision, Goutam Sen, CEO, National Gas, said the new regulations are aligned with international best practices. ''Cylinders have a shelf life even after 15 years, but what was happening in Oman was that we were scrapping them and replacing them with new ones in the market. With the new rule, we can test the cylinders and if they pass the test, use them for another ten years.''
In his response to the development, Nazeer al Rae, CEO, Muscat Gases Company, said, ''We at Muscat Gases Company welcome all such progressive decisions by the ministry.''
National Gas' Sen added that the new rule was good for LPG companies as it removed the burden of replacing old cylinders which could still be safely used for many more years.
On the branding of cylinders, Sen said that internationally, the responsibility for the cylinder was on the company that markets it. ''What was happening in Oman was that with cylinders being unbranded, any company could fill any other company's cylinders. And in an incident or technical fault, you didn't know who was responsible. The branding rule will make sure that the company that brands the cylinder is responsible for it. So, the rule is very good from the consumer's point of view.''
Sen added that most of the cylinders in the market today are owned by National Gas. ''But often somebody else fills them. However, the responsibility for repairing and replacing them falls back on us. If all companies take care of their own cylinders, the responsibility for each company is divided instead of being a burden on one company.''
Sen, however, added that this was only part of the problem. ''The main problem has been that LPG companies are not able to benefit from LPG sales, as prices have not changed for 20 years. The costs have gone up since 1994 when the current pricing was introduced.''
Suppliers can currently charge distributors up to RO1.9 for domestic-use cylinders and RO3.8 for commercial-use
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