The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) maintains adequate stocks to supply the consumers need, said Minister of Petroleum Resources Development, Arjuna Ranatunga, in a press communiqué to the media, yesterday.
Minister Ranatunga requested the public not to panic, but to consume petrol sparingly.
“By now, we have succeeded in supplying 80 per cent of demand. The supply of diesel and kerosene continues as usual,” Minister Ranatunga said.
The Minister said that public panic arose due to certain filling stations not receiving an adequate supply of petrol.
“This situation arose due to the rejection of substandard shipment of oil imported by the IOC Company,” he said.
“There is no shortage of petrol; we have adequate stocks to supply the needs of the public, said Deputy Minister of Petroleum Resources Development, Dr. Anoma Gamage.
“Over 2,700 metric tons of petrol will continue to be issued per day, as usual. There are stocks at our petroleum storage terminals in Muthurajawela, Kolonnawa and China Bay,” she told the Sunday Observer.
Minister Gamage said that the production capacity in Kolonnawa oil refinery was recently increased to 750 metric tons per day.
Meanwhile, a CPC official, who wished to remain anonymous, said that there is a short supply of petrol, which will be resolved with the arrival of the next shipment, within the next couple of days. He said that the exact arrival date of the shipment is not known as yet.
“The Kolonnawa refinery is in continuous supply, however, it is not adequate to meet public demand,” he said.