Sri Lanka to set up new gas company affiliated to state owned CPC
A new company affiliated to Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) is to be set up in order to overcome the growing LP gas crisis in the country.
Sri Lanka’s Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila has presented a proposal to the effect to the Cabinet of Ministers and received Cabinet approval last week.
The Cabinet of Minister in May decided to call for international bids for a 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) oil refinery on a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis as well as to amend the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation Act No. 28 of 1961, in a bid to end the country’s refining monopoly.
“The Government has begun the construction work of a new oil refinery in Sapugaskanda. The establishment of the new facility will be able to cater 20% of the LP gas requirement in the country,” the Energy Ministry has noted in a media statement.
The existing 38,000 bpd refinery by CPC will be expanded to 45,000 bpd through the proposed refinery project and the feasibility study on the proposed programme is to be completed by October 2021.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s LP Gas market has recently posed a new business/investment opportunity given the increasing demand in the local market. However, the country is also looking at launching its long awaited oil and gas exploration programme. With Sri Lanka emerging as a business destination in the South Asian region given it’s geographical positioning in the Indian ocean and the aggressive development programme launched by the country, foreign businesses/investors could look at the business/investment potential in Sri Lanka’s oil and gas exploration programme. It is also important to note that Sri Lanka’s strategic positioning in the Indian ocean would also boost the attractiveness of investing in the island.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/18082021/Z_6 |