Sapugaskanda oil refinery closed again

Saturday, 8 October 2022 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera yesterday announced that the Sapugaskanda oil refinery was closed once again from yesterday as there is no sufficient foreign exchange to pay for crude oil shipments.

“Shortage of foreign exchange for payment of two Ural crude cargos already used at the refinery has led to the decision to close down the refinery,” he tweeted yesterday.

Urals oil is a reference oil brand used, as a basis for pricing of the Russian export oil mixture.

Despite the refinery closure announcement, Minister Wijesekera assured that there will be no shortage in refined products, as Ceylon Petroleum Corporation has adequate stocks of all products, noting that the Central Bank has made available the weekly foreign exchange requirements for refined products.

“As soon as adequate foreign exchange is available to the CPC, the 100,000 tons ESPO (Eastern Siberia Pacific Ocean) crude oil in Sri Lankan waters for the past 10 days will be unloaded,” he said.