Sri Lanka’s energy minister Udaya Gammanpila on Tuesday said the country’s sole refinery had been temporarily shut down as the government tried to manage its shrinking foreign exchange reserves. According to Gammanpila, the 50,000 bpd Sapugaskanda refinery was put offline on Monday and would remain idle for the next 50 days. Sri Lanka will divert its foreign exchange reserves from purchasing oil to buying basic necessities like food and medicine, the minister added.
The move triggered long queues at petrol stations, adding to consumers’ struggle amid rising inflation and shortages of essential items such as rice, milk powder, cooking gas, and cement. Gammanpila noted that fuel imports would continue once the government had enough dollars but did not provide further details. The government is negotiating a $500-million credit line to import fuel from India. Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves plunged to $2.27 billion by end-October. Fuels accounted for Sri Lanka’s highest import expenditure. Over January-September, the country spent $692 million on fuel imports.
