The exploding Gas crisis

Domestic gas is now all the rage in Sri Lanka, with explosions and prices shooting through the roof, as there has been a series of liquid petroleum (LP) gas related incidents that have been reported throughout the country.

A quiet mass hysteria has been building up within many households who are living in fear of both buying gas cylinders, and not being able to provide themselves and their families with a meal on the table. This panic is visible in the gas cylinders that have been moved outdoors and the cooking now taking place in gardens, as well as the do-it-yourself leak tests that have flooded social media (though, the government urges people to not carry out unsafe tests on their gas cylinders as it is hazardous)

Multiple people have already suffered severe burns as a result of these incidents. Property, especially eateries and restaurants, have also been damaged, impacting owners’ livelihoods and sources of income.

During Deepavali, the crisis was particularly harsh on those who celebrated the festival of lights as many men and women found themselves unable to celebrate the day as they were either waiting in long queues looking for cooking gas or simply unable to cook any food to enjoy with their friends and families.

Housewives have also borne the brunt of this issues, having to walk great distances from their homes to join the long lines littering Sri Lanka to find gas cylinders so they can feed their families and the other people dependent on them. For those who can afford it, Uber Eats and Pick Me have been a saving grace as they resorted to ordering food from outlets to feed themselves. Yet, this is not a sustainable method of feeding whole families as the cost builds up, but there appears to be little to no alternatives.

Later, after a steep increase in cooking gasrelated occurrences throughout the country the distribution of LP gas cylinders halted on the 3rd of December. Prior to this, price controls on gas cylinders (and multiple other goods) had already been removed due to shortages caused by the lack of US dollars the government has for imports. Importers selling these goods had complained that they would simply be unable to sell even available stocks with the price controls implemented.

Now, there is an acute shortage of domestic gas cylinders and it’s the people that feel the consequences of this issue the hardest.

The situation had become so poor that people were forced to line up outside petrol stations in some areas looking to purchase kerosene as a last resort. Later, even the petrol stations began imposing limits on kerosene buyers.

The fact that this is all occurring during the Covid-19 pandemic, when people would rather not be crowding together outside in the hot sun, risking their lives for a common essential and the next meal, have only further aggravated the populace.

With increasing public annoyance and frustration, the President appointed a committee to investigate the suspicious increase in the cooking gas explosions happening throughout the country. Currently, the committee is placing the blame on expired accessories such as hoses, gas supply pipes, and regulators. The committee urged the public to go out and buy components that comply with safety standards, as well as to buy these components from reputable and responsible agencies.

The other factor of blame is due to the absence of odor produced by these gas cylinders. To address this, the local gas companies have agreed to increase the ethyl mercaptan concentration – a component responsible for giving a pungent smell – in their cylinders in the future. This is important as the smell is a major warning sign of leaks in gas cylinders.

The rumor of the recent changes in the propane and butane gas composition being the culprit is also being investigated by the committee. However, Litro Gas, the stateowned gas company which has an 80% stake in the local market, and whose gas cylinders are to blame for the explosions, rejected claims that the explosions were caused by the change of the mix in cylinders.

While Litro Gas has an 80% stake in the domestic gas market, Laugfs Gas, a privately owned gas company, takes up the rest.

The government and the appointed committee’s apparent solution to the gas explosions and shortages rampaging through the country is Siyolit – a new gas company formed by merging Laugfs and Litro Gas, with both companies suffering losses due to the gas crises.

Many have been critical of this decision as they are demanding the shortage be addressed first as well as the consumer rights that have been flagrantly disregarded by the government for some time now – and they do not see how the creation of a new company provides a reprieve to either of these problems.

Session XIV of SLMUN will be held on the 22nd and 23rd of January 2022 at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), Colombo, Sri Lanka. Registrations for delegates, admins and IPC delegates are now open until the 30th December 2021.