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Plans for black market fuel crackdown 

21 Mar 2022

BY Buddhika Samaraweera  Admitting that a black market of fuel has been created in the face of the current fuel crisis in the country, the Energy Ministry has stated that steps are now being considered to curb it. Speaking to The Morning yesterday (21), Energy Ministry Secretary K.D.R. Olga said: “A black market of fuel has now been created. There are various reports to the effect that hundreds of litres of fuel are being stored in certain places. So we will definitely take steps to control this situation and are currently considering the steps that are to be taken.” Accordingly, she said that data on the amount of fuel ordered and imported into the country during the past few months are being collected. She noted that through this, it will be possible to gain an understanding of the fuel consumption pattern of the people. “Only two fuel ship arrivals have been delayed in the last few months. All other orders have arrived as normal. In that situation, I do not understand how such a continuous fuel shortage can occur,” she claimed. Meanwhile, Olga, on Sunday (20), said that the Ministry had convened a meeting between the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Ltd. (CPSTL) officials to discuss how to distribute fuel equitably, covering all areas, with the meeting most likely to have been held yesterday. She said that the main objective of the meeting was to prevent the inconvenience and distress caused to consumers amidst the current fuel crisis. “There is an accusation that is constantly being heard. That is that some areas are getting too much fuel, but that some areas are not getting any at all. When looking into the matter, it has been identified that there are some shortcomings in the relevant methods regarding fuel distribution,” she said. The country has been hit by a fuel crisis for the past few months with the economy hit hard due to the serious deficit of US dollar reserves needed for imports. Over the last few months, many arrivals of stocks of fuel have been delayed due to the said dollar shortage. As a result, the country is facing a shortage of fuel, particularly diesel, these days, and people are seen waiting in long queues near fuel stations.


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