RIL in talks to buy tankers for liquid medical oxygen

As India’s health infrastructure gasps for oxygen, Reliance Industries is in talks with VRV Asia Pacific, a Chart Group company, and a few others to purchase tankers for transporting liquid medical oxygen (LMO), said a top executive at VRV.

India is struggling with a second wave of the pandemic with more than 300,000 new coronavirus cases being reported daily in the past few days. Hospitals in several states are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen and beds.

Reliance is likely to get tankers that can hold and transport up to 40,000 litres of liquid oxygen to large makeshift Covid facilities and hospitals.

It is also exploring ways with VRV to have smaller tanks installed, GL Rangnekar, managing director (MD), VRV, said.

VRV designs and manufactures cryogenic equipment at its unit at Sri City, Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the three companies in the country that makes cryogenic storage tanks, rigid tankers and trailers.

A spokesperson at RIL declined to comment. A person privy to the development confirmed that the company has been in talks to set up on-site storage but nothing has been finalised yet.

“We have been in talks with RIL. It will be picking up big stationary tanks for LMO storage and trailers for transportation. We have shared relevant details with it. It is likely to commission them at large Covid care facilities that have hundreds of patients in need of oxygen,” said Rangnekar.

RIL may source very large tanks and tankers. Typically, it takes little over a month to commission these tanks at a site. Therefore, to expedite supplies, it’s also in discussion with VRV for small portable tanks made by Chart in the US of 200 litres capacity. They are easy to commission at Covid facilities.

Oxygen moves through tankers to big hospitals where it is put in storage created for the purpose. Smaller hospitals or nursing homes get their supply in cylinders, which are also in short supply. The number of cylinders and tankers required should ideally be double that of the oxygen demand because empty ones go for refilling. This situation can be avoided if hospitals themselves host small oxygen plants.

Meanwhile, the Chart group company, which also makes cryogenic cylinders and LMO tankers for trailers, is also in touch with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). It is supporting many hospitals in augmenting capacities amid the severe shortage of LMO at Covid care facilities.