Sri Lanka holds fuel reserves sufficient to cover demand until August, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) Managing Director Mayura Neththikumarage said on Tuesday, with fuel orders already placed up until November.
A vessel carrying 90,000 metric tons of crude oil is scheduled to arrive on May 28, sourced from the United States, NewsFirst reported. A second crude shipment is expected on May 31. The MD also noted that fuel consumption had decreased at present.
The new ceiling extends the supply window flagged earlier this month, when CPC officials told media that stocks were secured through August and the odd-even rationing system was under review for discontinuation. Lower consumption tracks the QR-fuel demand-management framework Deputy Finance Minister Anil Jayantha told Parliament will continue, as well as the $1 billion four-month CPC fuel-import bill Anil Jayantha disclosed last week.
The US-origin sourcing comes after a sustained run of Middle East and Indian shipments through the Hormuz risk-premium cycle. CPC last secured a 95,000 MT crude tanker in late April, with shipments extending through to early June. The May 28 arrival is the first publicly disclosed US-origin crude cargo since the wartime supply pivot began, and lands during the same parliamentary cycle where the government is defending its CPC supply chain against opposition criticism.
Source: NewsFirst.
