Sri Lanka sends ministers to Russia for inexpensive oil

• Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera says fuel stocks are enough for less than two days.
• Cost of gasoline and diesel increase by 22 percent and 15 percent.
• Diesel prices have almost quadrupled since the beginning of the year.

Cash-strapped A day after the government declared that it had almost run out of petroleum, Sri Lanka stated that it would send ministers to Russia and Qatar to try and get inexpensive oil.

Following the acquisition of 90,000 tonnes of Siberian crude last month, Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera announced that two ministers will travel to Russia on Monday to discuss obtaining more oil.

Politicians have been asking the authorities to directly deal with the government of President Vladimir Putin, but that shipment was arranged through Coral Energy, a middleman with offices in Dubai.

Wijesekera told reporters in Colombo on Sunday, “Two ministers are going to Russia, and I will go to Qatar tomorrow to see if we can agree concessionary arrangements.”

Also Read

Sri Lanka in talks for $100 million emergency funding from Beijing-backed bank

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's finance ministry said on Sunday that the China-backed Asian...

After numerous scheduled shipments were postponed indefinitely owing to “banking” issues, Wijesekera had stated on Saturday that Sri Lanka was essentially out of gasoline and diesel.

Wijesekera apologised for the situation and stated that fuel stocks were enough to cover demand for fewer than two days and were being set aside for important services.

On Sunday, the government-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation raised the cost of gasoline and diesel by 22 percent and 15 percent, respectively, to 550 rupees ($1.52) and 460 rupees ($1.27), respectively.

Diesel prices have almost quadrupled since the beginning of the year, and gasoline prices have practically tripled.

New oil shipments would be delayed indefinitely, according to Wijesekera, who asked drivers to avoid standing in line until he implemented a token system for a set number of vehicles each day.

The government would concentrate on distributing the remaining inventories for public transportation, electricity generation, and medical services, Wijesekera said, so people who are currently waiting in kilometer-long, snaking lines outside pumps are unlikely to acquire fuel.

He said that ports and airports will receive fuel rationing. The military, which has previously been stationed at fuel stations to control disturbances, will now hand out tokens to those waiting, sometimes for days.

In the meantime, in order to save fuel, the government extended a two-week shutdown of non-essential public institutions until further notice, keeping only a skeleton workforce on hand to deliver the barest necessities.

Also Read

News Advisory

-- TOP STORIES --   + Russia strikes Kyiv missile factory  ...