The Sunday Morning newspaper has reported that it has now been revealed that the lower standard (octane 80-85) petrol is being refined by the Sapugaskanda Refinery and distributed under octane 92 standards.
Accordingly, it is said that 2,400 metric tons and 2,400 metric tons have been refined in July and August.
Sapugaskanda Refinery Operations Manager Harindra Kodagoda told Sunday Morning that the refinery refines and stores low grade 80-85 octane petrol.
When asked what will be done about the stocks of low grade petrol, Kodagoda said that the Petroleum Statutory Corporation will ‘upgrade’ them to Octane 92 standards and supply them to the local market.
He, however, declined to comment on how the 80-85 octane petrol would be improved and what would be the additional cost to the state petroleum supplier.
A senior official in the Ministry of Power and Energy told The Sunday Morning that the upgrading process usually involves blending diesel with lower grade petrol to raise its octane level.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Public Utilities Commission Chairman Janaka Ratnayake says that after receiving a number of complaints from drivers and the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) about poor quality fuel being released to the market, several fuel samples have been submitted to a local laboratory for quality testing.