Liquid Medical Oxygen Supply by Steel Sector
An empty tanker is seen outside an oxygen plant, amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Ghaziabad, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, April 22, 2021. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
The details of total capacity of production of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) of public and private sector steel companies during the last three years are as follows:-
(in tonnes per day)
| Year | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 |
| Total Capacity | 2492 | 2494 | 2748 | 4102 |
During the second wave of pandemic, the public and private sector steel plants together supplied 230262 tonnes of LMO between 1st April – 25th July, 2021. The plant-wise details in this regard are given in Annexure-I.
During peak of the second wave, steel sector had enhanced the LMO production considerably. As against 538 MT of LMO supplied on April 01, 2021, the supply of LMO peaked to 4749 MT on May 13, 2021. State-wise details of LMO supplied during April-July, 2021 are given in Annexure-II. Measures taken by the steel plants to increase production of LMO in the country included the following:-
(i) Reduced production of liquid Nitrogen and Liquid Argon.
(ii) Reduced usage of gaseous oxygen thereby reducing steel produced.
The enhanced production of LMO by reducing usage of gaseous oxygen led to reduced production of steel by about 500,000 tonnes during the period April-June, 2021.
The LMO produced in steel plants were supplied to 22 states/UTs as indicated in Annexure-II utilizing transportation modes of road, Oxygen express (Railways) and transport aircrafts of the Air Force.
ANNEXURE – I
(in tonnes)
| Plant Name | Production
Capacity of LMO |
LMO Supplied (01.04.21 |
to 25.07.21)SAIL Bhilai401661.41SAIL Bhilai (BOO Plant Linde)35021255.04SAIL Bokaro201399.23SAIL Bokaro (BOO Plant Inox)17010827.94SAIL Durgapur432449.41SAIL Durgapur (BOO Plant Linde)856350.9SAIL Raurkela483424.42SAIL Raurkela (BOO Plant Linde)31018817.36SAIL Burnpur702334.24RINL Vishakhapatnam1309947.47Tata Steel Jamshedpur (LINDE)453 21285.961TATA Steel Jameshdpur (AWIPL)15011258.26TATA Steel Kalinganagar21910641.03TATA Steel BSL2448126.35Jindal Stainless (Hisar) Ltd.9.5778.337Jindal Stainless Limited (Jajpur)523105.88AMNS HAZIRA (INOX)24011865.09JSW Steel Ltd. Vijayanagar – (Belloxy)1068253.03JSW Steel Ltd. Vijayanagar, (Linde PLC)53728023.6JSW Steel Ltd. Vijayanagar works (Air Water)1005891.945JSW Steel Ltd. Vijayanagar works (IGPL)1307184.74JSW Steel Ltd., Dolvi (Own)18013512.3JSW Steel Ltd., Dolvi (Own 2)1249414.23JSW Steel Ltd., Salem171696.57Jindal Steel & Power, Angul1002963.37Vedanta ESL, Bokaro.20474.44JSW- BPSL, Jharsuguda25718.9Kalyani Steel, Hospet1306600.3Total4102 230262
ANNEXURE – II
(in tonnes)
| Sl. No. | STATE | LMO Supplied (01.04.2021 to 25.07.2021) |
| 1 | Maharashtra | 30310.85 |
| 2 | Madhya Pradesh | 11477.19 |
| 3 | Chhattisgarh | 7404.96 |
| 4 | Andhra Pradesh | 30016.79 |
| 5 | Jharkhand | 6137.571 |
| 6 | West Bengal | 15224.03 |
| 7 | Bihar | 4622.83 |
| 8 | Odisha | 12750.9 |
| 9 | Uttar Pradesh | 15080.2 |
| 10 | Gujarat | 7563.24 |
| 11 | Karnataka | 44107.79 |
| 12 | Telangana | 17178.21 |
| 13 | Tamil Nadu | 10725.33 |
| 14 | Haryana | 8419.707 |
| 15 | Delhi | 2136.75 |
| 16 | Assam | 1921.95 |
| 17 | Kerala | 1436.58 |
| 18 | Goa | 715.75 |
| 19 | Punjab | 1842.72 |
| 20 | Rajasthan | 700.45 |
| 21 | Jammu & Kashmir | 18.16 |
| 22 | Uttarakhand | 470.28 |
| Total | 230262 | |
This information was given by the Union Minister for Steel Shri Ram Chandra Prasad Singh in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
