Gujarat: Covid chokes industries’ oxygen supply

AHMEDABAD: With hospitals’ demand for medical-grade oxygen shooting up amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the supply of oxygen to industrial units has been constrained. Manufacturers are unable to adequately meet the industrial demand.
To ensure uninterrupted supply of oxygen to hospitals amid the spike in demand, the central government in April allowed industrial oxygen manufacturers to produce and supply the gas for medical use.With medical use remaining the top priority, several manufacturers of industrial oxygen started producing and shipping medical-grade oxygen, the demand for which has more than doubled after the Covid-19 outbreak.
“Till March, barely 5% of our 90 tonnes per day production was supplied to healthcare institutions; now the figure has increased to 40%,” said Chetan Patel, director, Shree Ram Oxygas Private Limited, which operates a plant in Alang, Bhavnagar. “Hence, industries are not being adequately catered to,” Patel said.
“We have to give priority to healthcare in the time of the pandemic and we are working in tandem with government directives,” he added. Previously, the industrial segment consumed 60% of the total oxygen produced in the state, while the remaining 40% served medical needs. According to industry players, the situation has changed completely after the pandemic with 80% going for medical use and 20% for industries.
Oxygen is used in shipbreaking, engineering, steel, foundry and fabrication industries. “In addition to the rise in oxygen demand in Gujarat, there is a spike in demand from hospitals in Rajasthan and Maharashtra,” said a manufacturer and distributor of oxygen.
An Ahmedabad-based oxygen supplier said: “At present, only 20-30% of our oxygen supply goes to industries. If an industrial unit requires 15 bottles of oxygen a day, it is offered only 5 bottles, given the unprecedented demand from hospitals.” Bakul Patel, a partner in a shipbreaking firm in Alang, said: “Earlier, we used to get regular supply. Now we have to place the order in advance to ensure the required quantity is available.”
Haresh Parmar, secretary, Alang Ship Recycling Industries Association, said: “The price of industrial oxygen has jumped from Rs 10 per cubic metre to Rs 20 cubic per metre.”