Petrol stocks are limited

(FASTNEWS | COLOMBO) – Sri Lanka’s Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera told Parliament that Sri Lanka has received sufficient stocks of Diesel.

“On Tuesday (17) we distributed Super Diesel and Auto Diesel to all the filling stations in the country. We hope to ensure the continuous supply of Diesel from today (18) to all the 1,190 active filling stations in the country, although there are 1,300 filling stations,” he told the house on Wednesday (18).

The Minister confirmed that Sri Lanka has an issue with regard to the availability of Petrol, adding that since the 28th of March a vessel with Petrol has been anchored in Sri Lankan waters.

“We do not have the US Dollars to make the payment for the vessel with Petrol,” he revealed to the Parliament, adding that another USD 53 Million is due for the same vessel for a previous shipment in January 2022.

He said the respective shipping company had refused to release the vessel until both payments are settled, adding that following an assurance by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to make the previous payment from August, the company had agreed to release the vessel after the due payment is made.

“We are yet to source the funds for this purpose,” he revealed adding that the Ministry is working towards releasing the vessel either on Wednesday (18) or Thursday (19).