Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery to be shut for first time as no Crude Oil

The Ministry of Energy has decided to shut down operations at the Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery from today (15) for the first time in history due to a shortage of crude oil.

Further it is reported that this situation is due to the non-submission of crude oil suppliers to the tenders submitted by Sri Lanka to purchase crude oil.

The trade unions pointed out that due to this, there is a risk of a fuel shortage in the future.

Chairman of the Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Limited Mohamed Uvais said the decision was reached by the Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila at a review meeting held Saturday (13) with the participation of officials representing institutions that come under the purview of the Ministry.

The Chairman said various options were discussed during the meeting adding they reached the decision to suspend operations at the Refinery and carry out maintenance and repairs usually scheduled for February.

The Chairman says fuel required for the country for the next 15 days will be available despite the suspension of operations of the Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery.

---

UPDATE – 04:15 PM :

The Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery will be temporarily closed for 50 days from today (15), Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila said.

However, he said at a media briefing that there will be no fuel shortage in the country due to closure of the oil refinery.

The minister said that a special announcement was not made prior to the closure of the refinery, because it was an internal matter. “It was an internal matter that only affects the CPC, which does not affect the country’s fuel supply at all,” he said.