Guangzhou: Several liquefied natural gas (LNG) filling stations are limiting supplies amid soaring prices in the city in South China.

Despite steps by the Guangdong Price Bureau to try to curb the price rise, the cost of a 15-kg LNG bottle has risen to 115 yuan (US$14) from 95 yuan (US$12) 10 days ago. Consumers also face a delivery charge of 6 yuan (74 US cents).

Many bottled LNG filling stations have limited their LNG supply to 30 to 50 bottles per day, an unprecedented scene in the city.

Hu Jinrong, a manager with Guangzhou Xinlian LNG Filling Station, told China Daily: "It is becoming more and more difficult to source LNG within the province of Guangdong and we have been searching for sources elsewhere.

"Some neighbouring provinces seem to control the LNG supply to us. I'm afraid that supplies of bottled LNG will run out some day in the future or price rises will grow even more."

Xinlian's LNG gas is 115 yuan (US$14.18) per 15-kg bottle and it limits the supply to 30 bottles each day.

Hu said that the LNG wholesaling price is 100 yuan (US$12) per 15-kg bottle, and his retail price, when other costs such as transportation are considered, meant his profit margins were very slim.

He urged the local government to find more ways to help diversify LNG supply channels, and subsidize the LNG businesses or low-income citizens instead of simply interrupting the price hike.

"I can manage to afford the price rise, but I cannot bear the short supply of bottled LNG," said Wu Jiping, an account manager with a local PR firm.

He said that while he could use more electrical appliances to minimize the gas consumption, life would be terrible without normal supplies of bottled LNG.

A growing number of Guangzhou citizens, especially those low-income ones and small restaurant owners, have been relying on honeycomb briquettes as a source of fuel.

According to Huang Jiajun, a honeycomb briquette retailer in the city's Tianhe District, he sold an average of about 3,000 honeycomb briquettes every day in the past week, compared with the usual average of 1,000. Each briquette costs about 30 fen (4 US cents).

"About 80 per cent of the LNG in Guangdong depends on imports. The price rise of imported LNG can be one of the reasons for the LNG retail price hike in the province," said Zhuang Zhenxi, director of Guangdong Price Bureau's market supervision division.

Customs statistics indicate that the province imported 3.91 million tons of LNG in 2005, down 6.3 per cent from 2004; the average price stood at US$463 per ton, up 23.1 per cent.

Supply problems have hit many other cities of the province. However, pipe gas supplies remain stable in the province.

Editor: Yan