Refinery to be shut down after mid-April due to crude oil issue : CPC

Even though assurance was given by the government that no power cuts will be imposed soon, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) chairman D.J Rajakaruna said yesterday that the refinery which produces furnace oil and naphtha for power generation, will have to be shut down by middle of April due to unavailability of crude oil.

The chairman told a news conference at the Government Information Department that the crude oil stocks in the country will be sufficient to run the refinery only till Mid April and that the next crude oil shipment is due on June 19 and 20 after the cancellation of two crude oil shipments of 90,000 tonnes.

Rajakaruna said furnace oil and naphtha which are crucial for power generation is produced in the refinery and that after closing down the refinery, power generation at night time has to be done with diesel.

"The closing down the refinery will be a serious issue for power generation," he said.

The chairman said the CPC has ordered a furnace oil shipment under emergency purchases and that it is due in April 12 and 13.

He said however, Naphtha cannot be purchased and that diesel has to be used in place of naphtha.

"We have to generate power using diesel at higher rate. We request people to use electricity sparingly at night. If people support us by switching off at least one bulb at night, switching off signboards on roadsides and street lamps, we can manage this further more," he said.

He said there will be no disruption of fuel supply or there will be no need to impose power cuts next month.

Rajakaruna said private sector has also been allowed to import fuel under unsolicited offers and that two such proposals have already been received.

"If anyone is interested in importing fuel, he or she can send an email to Energy Minister Secretary and copy it to the CPC as well. Then, the committee appointed by the Cabinet will evaluate the proposal and take a decision. The importer has to place a USD 1 million bond," he said.

Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said that the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) will announce its decision on power tariff increase by April 1.

Responding to a question, he said CEB's power tariff hike proposal has been made based on December, January data and that current fuel price hike has not been considered in CEB's power tariff hike request. 

source: Daily Mirror