MRPL ensures petroleum products supply during COVID-19 spread

Team Udayavani, Apr 4, 2020, 8:50 AM IST

Mangaluru: The Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), the Karnataka”s lone refinery, kept its operations uninterrupted against all odds to serve the energy needs of the state and many pockets of southern states during the current lockdown.

The supply of petrol and diesel, crucial not just to Karnataka but also other parts of South, continued smoothly while fully complying with the lockdown order and ensuring the safety of the people.

During the period, petrol and diesel are supplied to local depots and oil marketing companies and through pipelines to destinations in Hassan and Bengaluru in millions of litres per day to meet the administrative and transportation needs.

In the last seven days of lockdown, the refinery has consistently supplied LPG sufficient to fill nearly one million LPG cylinders which account for 1,50,000 cylinders per day, a company press release said.

A total of 30 million litres of diesel was supplied to ensure movement of vegetables, food grains and provisions.

The company also supported the Dakshina Kannada district administration in the fight against COVID-19 by supplying 10,000 units of sanitisers for the use of various organs of the administration, the release issued by Rudolf V J Noronha, general manager (corporate communications), MRPL, said.

Meanwhile, the company sought to allay fears expressed by a section of people about a Chinese ship transporting diesel which arrived at the Mangalore port a few days back.

MRPL has clarified that the ship had come here and two personnel had entered the ship.

The company is strictly following guidelines provided about ships arriving from different ports, loading and health condition of the staff, Noronha said.

He said there is no question of MRPL, an entity of the Central government, violating coronavirus rules.

Most of the processes at the port are performed without human intervention, but for fitting diesel pipe to the pipe of MRPL, someone has to board the ship.

In such situations, all precautions like masks, goggles, gloves and other safety measures are taken.

There is no need for people to be apprehensive about such issues, he said.