(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) The Directorate General for Standards and Metrology (DGSM) at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has given the nod for a change in policy on retesting LPG cylinders after their 15-year shelf life. The authority has also decided not to introduce branding of LPG cylinders by supplier companies.
DGSM has over the last several months held numerous meetings with the industry to discuss amendments to Standard Specification No 201 on LPG cylinders, their filling, transportation, storing and disposal.
In the amended standard, the authority will allow testing of LPG cylinders once they are past their shelf life of 15 years. ''We have come up with a proposal to test cylinders every five years from the time a cylinder completes 15 years. The cylinders can be tested every five years, until it fails the test,'' said Saoud al Khusaibi, director general, DGSM.
He added, ''We are in the process of issuing a ministerial decision after which it will become a mandatory procedure.''
However, DGSM has decided not to introduce branding of cylinders. ''We discussed a lot of things but in conclusion nothing fruitful came out on branding. Introduction of company logo on the cylinders was an option discussed to streamline the sector, but small investors were reluctant to adopt the measure fearing competition from bigger players.''
Also, it would have meant limiting options for customers as they would have to wait for a particular company to deliver the cylinders, added Khusaibi.
National Gas, which had in an earlier Muscat Daily article, welcomed the decision of extending the life of cylinders and introduction of branding, said that it could have been better had the life of the cylinder been extended by ten years instead of five. ''Part of the problem has been addressed. Earlier we had to scrap a cylinder after 15 years whatever be its condition, but the new five-year extension is a big respite for us,'' Nalin Kumar Chandna, acting CEO, National Gas.
On the issue of branding, he said that it would have definitely helped to mature the market. ''Currently, it is unorganised with small players making money at the expense of bigger companies. Branding wouldn't require much of an investment even for small players,'' said Chandna.
Unbranded cylinders mean that a customer cannot make out which company they belong to. But cylinders can be filled by any company in the business and redistributed in the market.&
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