The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has moved to reassure motorists that there is no fuel shortage in the country, after queues formed at some filling stations.
CPC Managing Director Dr. Mayura Neththikumarage said two crude oil ships are scheduled to arrive at the Colombo Port within days. A vessel carrying 89,000 metric tons of crude from the United States is incoming, while a second ship carrying 95,000 metric tons from the Middle East is due to arrive on 31 May.
He said the queues observed at certain stations were the result of false rumours circulating about an imminent fuel price increase. The government has not announced any such revision.
The assurance builds on CPC’s earlier statement that fuel stocks were secured through August, including a US crude shipment, as the corporation diversifies supply amid the Middle East conflict.
The incoming US cargo is notable for arriving on the same day American forces struck targets in southern Iran, including boats laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz — the chokepoint through which much of Sri Lanka’s fuel transits. The conflict has driven CPC’s monthly crude import bill sharply higher, a key pressure point flagged by the Central Bank.
