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Kanchana vijesekera Said that the consignment of oil which was due last week did not arrive, while the oil which came next week would not arrive. Sri Lanka For “banking” reasons.
Sri Lanka is facing a severe shortage of foreign exchange to finance most essential imports including food, fuel and medicines and is appealing for international handouts.
Wijecekera said state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation was unable to say when fresh oil would be supplied to the island. He said that CPC has also closed its only refinery due to shortage of crude oil.
The refinery began operations earlier this month using 90,000 tonnes of Russian crude, purchased on two-month credit terms through Dubai-based Coral Energy.
Wijesekera said he regretted that the delivery of “petrol, diesel and crude oil shipments due earlier this week and next week” would not be completed “on time due to banking and logistical reasons”.
He said the scarce supplies remaining in the country would be distributed through a handful of pumping stations.
Priority will be given to public transport and power generation, Wijesekera said, urging motorists not to queue for fuel.
“I apologize for the delay and inconvenience,” the minister said, as hundreds of thousands of motorists in the poor country spent long hours waiting for petrol and diesel.
Last week, the government closed schools as well as non-essential state institutions for two weeks to reduce commuting due to the energy crisis.
Several hospitals across the country have reported a sharp drop in the attendance of medical staff due to fuel shortage.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe On Wednesday, it warned Parliament that the South Asian country with a population of 22 million would face difficulties for a few more months and urged people to use fuel sparingly.
“Our economy has completely collapsed,” Wickremesinghe said.
“We are now facing a situation far more dire than just lack of fuel, gas, electricity and food.”
Unable to repay its $51 billion foreign debt, the government announced it was defaulting in April and was in talks with International Monetary Fund for possible relief.
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