Premajayanth says CPC now receiving normal fuel supply

Petroleum Industries Minister Susil Premajayanth said the recent controversy over the alleged sale of substandard fuel by Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) fuel stations had now been resolved, with the corporation receiving its normal fuel supplies. Premajayanth explained that complaints had been made following the distribution of an emergency supply of 20,000 metric tonnes of fuel imported by the CPC when the regular fuel supplier had informed during Poson Poya last month that the shipment would be delayed by five days.

“When the emergency supplies were distributed to the fuel stations, the amount of fuel has been very low in the tanks and the new load of fuel pumped to the tanks at the stations had got mixed with sludge and other material at the bottom of the tank,” the Minister said. Therefore, he observed that vehicles that were pumped with the fuel had experienced difficulty.

“There was no issue over the quality of the fuel that was imported. The problem was that the fuel had got mixed with sludge in the tanks at the fuel stations,” he said.

However, the Minister said that the CPC had received the normal fuel supplies that have been distributed and the issue of substandard fuel had been addressed.

When asked how the CPC paid for the 20,000 metric tonnes of emergency fuel supplies, Premajayanth said that the country usually received a six month credit period and the emergency supplies were also purchased under the same conditions. “The Cabinet Appointed Tender Board (CATB) had the mandate to authorise such emergency purchases,” he said.

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