The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) is making a fresh attempt to explore importing Nigerian crude oil, as fuel prices climb on world markets.
An earlier sample brought from Nigeria was found to be contaminated with water. CPC Chairman D.J. Rajakaruna told the Daily Mirror that his office has since sought a fresh sample for a specification test.
“We keep exploring alternate markets for fuel purchases. We have to test whether Nigerian crude can be refined locally,” he said.
Rajakaruna said rising fuel prices remain a challenge for Sri Lanka.
Why the specification test matters
Sri Lanka’s only refinery, at Sapugaskanda, accounts for 25 to 30 per cent of supplies to the local market. The rest is imported as finished product.
A refinery is built around the crude grades it was designed to process, so a new source cannot simply be substituted — hence the specification test on whether Nigerian crude can be run at Sapugaskanda at all. Nigerian grades are typically light and sweet, in contrast to the Middle Eastern crude the refinery has historically processed.
The search for alternative suppliers comes as the conflict involving Iran continues to disrupt Gulf energy flows. Brent crude has risen more than 30 per cent since the US–Israel war on Iran began on 28 February, and prices climbed again on Monday after renewed strikes on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The same disruption is being felt elsewhere in the import chain: the construction industry has warned that Gulf bitumen supply problems could stall road projects.
Neither the volume under discussion, the pricing terms, nor a timeline for a decision was disclosed.
