According to media reports, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has made partial payments for two fuel shipments that are expected to arrive in Sri Lanka within 10 days.
One of the two shipments, carrying 31,000 MT of petrol, is expected to arrive by the end of this week, according to CPC sources. The other vessel, carrying 40,000 MT of diesel, is scheduled to arrive at Colombo Port within the next 10 days.
M.P.D.U.K. Mapa Pathirana confirmed that part payments for both consignments had been made.
According to CPC sources, approximately 3,000 MT of petrol and 4,000 MT of diesel are distributed each day in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka has been limiting the amount of fuel available on the market in order to keep public transportation and other essential services running.
According to the Power and Energy Ministry, Sri Lanka requires an average of $600 million in fuel imports for transportation, power generation, and industry. However, due to the current economic crisis and dollar shortage, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) informed the CPC in May of this year that the state could only provide up to $ 200 million per month for fuel imports.
There will be two crude oil shipments.
According to M.P.D.U.K. Mapa Pathirana, Secretary of the Ministry of Power and Energy, Sri Lanka has also placed an order for two shipments of crude oil, which are expected to arrive this month.
However, he refused to comment on the volume of the consignments without first consulting the CPC.
“I believe one shipment is 700,000 barrels of crude oil and the other is 900,000 barrels of crude oil.” “I don’t have the figures with me right now,” he admitted to the media.
Pathirana stated that once the consignments arrived in Sri Lanka, payments for the crude oil would be made in rupees to a local account.
After several weeks for the payment to be fulfilled, the Central Bank is expected to convert the rupee value of the consignments to US dollars.
Pathirana declined to comment on the value of the two consignments, other than to say it would be determined by market prices at the time the vessels arrived.
The Sapugaskanda Refinery is currently closed due to a lack of crude oil to process.
Last month, Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera told Parliament that importing crude oil and refining it locally was cheaper than importing petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel, and kerosene.
Attempts to contact the Chairman of the CPC and the Minister of Power and Energy about future fuel imports and funding to pay for them were unsuccessful.