In a strategic move of historic policy of reversing a historic policy decision of nationalization transporting petroleum sector into a status of money eating monster, the government has taken the first step towards commecialisation
It has cleared the way for three international oil firms to re-enter Sri Lanka for the first time since the nationalisation of oil companies in the early 1960s, with the exception of the Indian Oil Corporation which has Oil Corporation which has operated in the country since 2003
Accordingly, fuel sales agreements, Government policy, logistics and the timeline for the commencement of operations in Sri Lanka have been finalised.
Power and Energy Minister Mahinda Wijesekera stated that the date of commencement of operations in Sri Lanka will be announced by the Australian company within the next week.
Earlier this week,Minister Wijesekers also held a discussion with US-based oil company RM Parks Inc. and the British multinational oil and gas company Shell PLC on commencing retail fuel sales in Sri Lanka in the first week of June this year, for which a date is due to be decided in mid-May to sign the relevant agreements.
Following a visit to the Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Limited (CPSTL) tank farm last week, the technical officials of the RM Parks Inc. and Shell PLC offered to upgrade CPSTL berthing facilities to be in line with international standards and safety requirements.
Meanwhile, team of China-based Sinopec officials and technical experts are also currently in Sri Lanka to finalise the agreements and commencement of operation for retail fuel sales here, for which the relevant agreements will be signed in mid-May and operations will commence 45 days thereon.
Last month, the Cabinet of Ministers green-lighted a proposal to allow three foreign oil companies to commence their fuel distribution operations in Sri Lanka.
Thereby, retail licenses will be granted to China-based Sinopec, Australia-based United Petroleum and US-based RM Parks Inc., in collaboration with London-based Shell PLC.
Wijesekera, revealed that each company will handle 150 CPC dealer-operated filling stations in the local market.
At present, a total of 1,142 filling stations are under the purview of the CPC, however, the corporation fully owns only 234 of them, the minister explained, adding that 450 out of the remaining 908 filling stations owned by private distributors would be allocated to the three foreign oil companies.
In the meantime, the public perception is that the CPC and CEB are corrupt organisations and they burden the national economy. Hence, privatisation is the only solution. In 2015 I demonstrated once the manipulation of politicians is removed, these two organisations could be transformed into financially and economically viable organisations.Sri Lankans enjoy some stability in the power sector now. The price hike, low consumption enforced through QR code and low forex availability created this uneasy, temporary equilibrium
