30 March 2022 07:07 pm Views - 4692
The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) today said they would be able to supply fuel including diesel, petrol and jet fuel without any issue in April, as fuel shipments would be recieved as per the schedule under the Indian Line of Credit facility.
CPC Chairman Sumith Wijesinghe told a news conference at the Presidential Media Centre that fuel consumption has unusually gone up by about 35% this year when compared to previous years.
He said nearly US$ 1.2 billion had been spent for fuel imports during the first three months of this year and that over US$ 5 billion would be needed to import fuel for rest of the year, if prices remain stable as at the present rate. "
This is a remarkable increase reported after 15 years. Only US$ 2.5 billion was spent for fuel imports last year. We had to spend US$ 1.2 billion within just three months this year alone," he said.
He said a fuel shipment which costs around US$ 25 million has gone up to US$ 45 to 55 million by now.
Mr. Wijesinghe said diesel consumption has increased unusually this year and added that it was only 139,000 MTs of diesel was consumed in January last year.
However, it went upto 198,000 MTs in January this year. It has further went high to 211,000 MTs in March this year. This is an unusual situation. We need to find as to why it has gone up to such considerable proportions, even when vehicle imports too have been suspended for two years since now," he said. (Ajith Siriwardana)