Trinco Petroleum Terminal to invite bids for Trinco fuel trading hub
The Morning: Trinco Petroleum Terminal Ltd. (TPTL), a joint venture between the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and Lanka IOC (LIOC), is set to commence a Request for Proposal (RFP) process to establish an international fuel trading hub at the Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm.
Speaking to The Morning Business, CPC Managing Director Dr. Mayura Neththikumarage said that all preparatory work required to commence the RFP process to commercialise and redevelop 29 of the 61 tanks allocated to TPTL had been completed.
The necessary documents have also been finalised and submitted for approval to the Cabinet-appointed procurement committee.
He added that advertisements calling for RFPs from interested parties would be published once the committee granted final approval.
“We will be initially developing 29 of the 61 tanks allocated to TPTL. We are doing it in two phases. We will look at how the first phase proceeds before moving on to the next phase,” Dr. Neththikumarage said.
Commenting further on the model chosen for the development of the 29 tanks, he said that ownership would remain with TPTL, while operations would be handed over to a chosen private party.
However, he noted that the developed oil tanks would only be permitted to sell to the international market and would not be allowed access to the local market.
“They cannot sell within Sri Lanka. It will function as an international trading hub,” he said.
Dr. Neththikumarage said that they were considering an agreement with the selected private operator for a minimum period of 20 years, subject to approval from the Cabinet-appointed procurement committee.
The Trincomalee Oil Tank Complex Development Project was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on 4 January 2022. Under the arrangement, it was decided that 24 of the 99 tanks would be given to the CPC, 14 tanks to LIOC, and 61 tanks to TPTL, the latter on a 50-year lease, with the CPC having the majority stake in the subsidiary.
Consequently, LIOC and the CPC entered into an agreement on 6 January 2022 for the joint development of the 61 tanks held by Trinco Petroleum Terminal, with the CPC holding a 51% stake in the company and LIOC holding the remaining 49%.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s energy sector is emerging as a new frontier for foreign investment as the economy moves towards a more stable and sustained growth path, with business/investment opportunities expanding beyond traditional fuel imports into trading, storage, renewables and energy infrastructure. The proposed development of an international fuel trading hub at the Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm is one of the clearest examples of this shift. Trinco Petroleum Terminal Ltd. is preparing to seek private-sector participation to commercialise and redevelop 29 tanks, with operations to be handed over to a selected private operator. The project could position Trincomalee as a regional energy and fuel-trading centre, creating business/investment opportunities for international oil companies, commodity traders, storage operators, logistics providers and other energy-related businesses. Importantly, the facility is intended to serve international markets, giving investors a platform to participate in regional energy trade without relying solely on domestic demand. Beyond petroleum, Sri Lanka’s expanding energy requirements are creating opportunities in renewable power, energy storage, transmission infrastructure, efficiency technologies and related services. The country’s strategic location along major Indian Ocean shipping routes further strengthens its potential as an energy logistics and trading hub. As economic activity, industrial production and investment recover, demand for reliable and competitively priced energy is expected to grow. This creates a wider investment landscape in which foreign businesses/investors can participate in building the infrastructure needed to support Sri Lanka’s next phase of economic expansion.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20260831Z_4 |