Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery to restart on December 7: Gammanpila

• It was decided to import fuel instead of crude oil because the foreign exchange needs to be managed

The Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery which was closed last month will be restarted from December 7 Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila said.

The Oil Refinery was temporarily closed on November 15.

Earlier, the minister said the refinery will be shut down for 50 days as it was an internal matter that would not affect the country's fuel supply.

He told the media following the temporary closure of the refinery that only 43 percent of the crude oil can be used to produce fuel and at a time when there is a shortage of dollars, it was decided to import fuel instead of crude oil because the foreign exchange needs to be managed.