External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on March 28 visited Lanka IOC, the local subsidiary of India’s oil major Indian Oil Corporation in Colombo and took stock of the island nation’s fuel supply situation amidst India’s support during its current foreign exchange crisis.
Sri Lanka is facing an acute economic and energy crisis triggered due to the shortage of foreign exchange.
Mr. Jaishankar is in Colombo to hold bilateral talks with the country’s top leadership and attend the seven-nation BIMSTEC summit.
“Visited Lanka IOC in downtown Colombo. Managing Director Manoj Gupta briefed me on the fuel supply situation. Indian LoC of US$ 500 million is helping Sri Lankan people in their everyday life,” Mr. Jaishankar said on Twitter.
Lanka IOC is Sri Lanka’s No.1 listed energy company, bringing energy to life for the whole nation, according to the company’s website.
Lanka IOC believes that Sri Lanka deserves a world-class petroleum industry, and is building a healthy and competitive fuel network that will both boost the nation’s economy, and care for its environment, it says.
In recent weeks, Lanka IOC has hiked fuel prices in the country.
Lanka IOC does not receive any subsidy from the Sri Lankan Government and its losses are calculated based on actual landed cost of the product after considering payment of applicable duties, taxes and other statutory levies including handling charges.
Last month, the Sri Lankan Government decided to purchase 40,000 metric tonnes each of petrol and diesel from the Indian Oil Corporation as part of its ongoing efforts to tide over the current fuel and energy crisis.
Lanka IOC, the Sri Lankan subsidiary of India’s oil major Indian Oil Corporation, has been in operation in Sri Lanka since 2002.
Sri Lanka in the recent weeks has been mulling different options to facilitate measures to prevent fuel pumps from going dry, as the country was faced with a severe foreign exchange crisis to pay for its imports.
The country is grappling with a shortage of almost all essentials, due to the lack of dollars to pay for the imports.
India recently announced to extend a $1 billion line of credit to Sri Lanka as part of its financial assistance to the country to deal with the economic crisis.
New Delhi had extended a $500 million line of credit to Colombo in February to help it purchase petroleum products.
