Petroleum Ministry allays public fears:

Fuel ‘shortage’ a big fib

Ample stocks of refined fuel :

Rasika SOMARATHNA

The Petroleum Industries Ministry yesterday assured there will be no shortage of fuel in the country and there will not be any price increase despite difficulties faced due to US sanctions on Iran and the temporary closure of the Sapugaskanda refinery.

A ministry spokesman said two shipments of crude oil of over 200,000 metric tons will arrive in the country by next month and the Sapugaskanda refinery will also start operations shortly.

The ministry denied certain media reports which indicated a possibility of a fuel shortage, saying there were enough stocks of refined fuel in the market. Additionally, the government has taken measures to import oil from other sources outside Iran such as Saudi Arabia and Oman.

The spokesman said a ship carrying 90,000 metric tons of crude oil will arrive in the country between November 6 to 8 and another carrying 113,000 metric tons will arrive between November 15 and 20.

Another shipment of crude oil of more than 100,000 metric tons is slated to arrive in the country in early December.

The spokesman said measures have been taken to import further shipments of crude oil from Oman and Saudi Arabia in addition to purchasing refined oil from the open market.

The spokesman admitted that importing refined fuel costs the country additional funds, but said a fuel price hike has not been considered. He said the ministry is planning to modernise the Sapugaskanda refinery, to both increase its capability and increase its capacity. The spokesman said the government is heavily subsidising fuel to maintain the prices at current level.

He said for petrol, the government was giving a subsidy of Rs13 -14 per litre and the daily consumption was around 2,000 metric tons. The spokesman said for diesel, the subsidy was around Rs 20 and the daily consumption was around 6,000 metric tons while for kerosene it was Rs 23 and the daily consumption was around 600 metric tons.