• Interested parties  out to bring down refined oil and earn more
• There is a  plan to import refined oil despite adequate stocks of crude oil held by the Sapugaskanda refinery  

By Yohan Perera  

There is a scam behind the fuel scarcity as interested parties are out to bring down refined oil and earn more, a Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP said yesterday.  
SJB MP Gayantha Karunatilaka told a press conference that there is a sinister plan to import refined oil despite adequate stocks of crude oil held by the Sapugaskanda refinery.  
“Lakdanavi plant needs only 1,200 metric tons of oil daily while Kelanitissa only needs 1,000 metric tons of furnace oil and 500metric tons of naphtha. Sapugaskanda refinery is fully capable of supplying these needs as it possesses 100,000 metric tons of crude oil currently. The refinery is running 50 percent below its capacity,” the MP alleged.   

“The refinery is able to produce 5,000 metric tons of refined oil per day but it is only producing 3,200 metric tons daily at the moment.,” he added.  
“The oil scam has pushed the country’s transportation system to a standstill,” he also said.  

Mr. Karunatilaka further alleged that the government which blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for the financial crisis is now trying to blame the war in Ukraine for the crisis.  
Asked about the programme which the government allies are to come up with, the MP said it is nothing but another political drama. 

• The refinery is able to produce 5,000 metric tons of refined oil per day  but it is only producing 3,200 metric tons at the moment