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Sri Lanka seeks crude oil from Russian companies

Kanchana Wijesekera, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Power and Energy, stated on Sunday that the island nation has reached out to several Russian crude oil suppliers in an effort to resolve the island nation’s energy crisis.

According to Xinhua, Wijesekera stated that they are attempting to obtain Russian crude oil on credit in order to keep the country’s sole oil refinery operational.

According to the Minister, Sri Lanka’s oil bill will reach $550 million per month by June 2022.

He also stated that Sri Lanka now owes oil companies $730 million for oil imported on credit, and that these companies will no longer supply fuel unless upfront payments or deposits are made.

Since February, Sri Lanka has faced crippling fuel shortages as the country’s foreign exchange crisis worsened.

Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, the country’s state-owned fuel distributor, stated that it only has 5,000 metric tonnes of petrol and that only 500 metric tonnes will be released to gas stations each day.

The country currently requires at least $5 billion over the next six months to cover basic necessities like food, fuel, and fertiliser.

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Brendan Taylor

Brendan Taylor was a TV news producer for 5 and a half years. He is an experienced writer. Brendan covers Breaking News at Insider Paper.







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