Colombo: Threatened Sri Lanka Weekly fuel quotas for motorists were announced on Sunday, as a severe shortage and long queues continue outside some pumping stations.
energy Minister Kanchana vijesekera The state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation was struggling to finance oil imports, while a lack of electricity and liquefied petroleum gas stoked consumption.
“We have no option but to register the consumers at filling stations and give them a guaranteed weekly quota till we are able to strengthen the financial position,” the minister said.
“I hope this system will be implemented by the first week of July.”
He did not specify how much fuel motorists would be allowed to buy under the new arrangement.
Sri Lanka is grappling with its worst economic crisis in decades, with the country unable to import basic necessities such as food, fuel and medicine due to lack of foreign exchange reserves.
In mid-April, the government ordered all fuel stations not to pump out four liters of petrol for motorcycles, five for three-wheelers and 19.5 liters for cars and SUVs.
Under that system, many motorists would refuel in compartments to create a buffer stock, and then return to queue for more.
This week, queues at fuel stations had grown longer, with hundreds of cars and thousands of motorcycles lined up, sometimes for days.
Two weeks ago, Sri Lanka received a shipment of Russian crude to be refined on the island, but the finished product sapugaskand The refinery produced less than a tenth of the country’s daily requirement.
About 90,000 tonnes of Siberian light crude was sent to Sri Lanka’s lone refinery last month after receiving a shipment on credit from Dubai-based intermediary Coral Energy.
Energy Minister Wijesekera said the Sri Lankan government has also approached Moscow’s envoy in Colombo for help in direct supply of Russian oil.
Sri Lanka defaulted on $51 billion of its foreign debt in mid-April and has since started talks with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout.
The United Nations has issued an appeal for $47 million to buy essential food for 1.7 million Sri Lankans over the next four months.
The worst economic crisis since the country gained independence in 1948 has triggered widespread protests for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down.
He refused, and instead asked his brother Mahinda to step down as prime minister on 9 May.
President Rajapaksa re-appoints opposition politician Ranil Wickremesinghe To make Mahindra a success and help lift the country out of unprecedented economic chaos.
energy Minister Kanchana vijesekera The state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation was struggling to finance oil imports, while a lack of electricity and liquefied petroleum gas stoked consumption.
“We have no option but to register the consumers at filling stations and give them a guaranteed weekly quota till we are able to strengthen the financial position,” the minister said.
“I hope this system will be implemented by the first week of July.”
He did not specify how much fuel motorists would be allowed to buy under the new arrangement.
Sri Lanka is grappling with its worst economic crisis in decades, with the country unable to import basic necessities such as food, fuel and medicine due to lack of foreign exchange reserves.
In mid-April, the government ordered all fuel stations not to pump out four liters of petrol for motorcycles, five for three-wheelers and 19.5 liters for cars and SUVs.
Under that system, many motorists would refuel in compartments to create a buffer stock, and then return to queue for more.
This week, queues at fuel stations had grown longer, with hundreds of cars and thousands of motorcycles lined up, sometimes for days.
Two weeks ago, Sri Lanka received a shipment of Russian crude to be refined on the island, but the finished product sapugaskand The refinery produced less than a tenth of the country’s daily requirement.
About 90,000 tonnes of Siberian light crude was sent to Sri Lanka’s lone refinery last month after receiving a shipment on credit from Dubai-based intermediary Coral Energy.
Energy Minister Wijesekera said the Sri Lankan government has also approached Moscow’s envoy in Colombo for help in direct supply of Russian oil.
Sri Lanka defaulted on $51 billion of its foreign debt in mid-April and has since started talks with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout.
The United Nations has issued an appeal for $47 million to buy essential food for 1.7 million Sri Lankans over the next four months.
The worst economic crisis since the country gained independence in 1948 has triggered widespread protests for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down.
He refused, and instead asked his brother Mahinda to step down as prime minister on 9 May.
President Rajapaksa re-appoints opposition politician Ranil Wickremesinghe To make Mahindra a success and help lift the country out of unprecedented economic chaos.