Amid Sri Lanka's energy crisis, Min warns of depleting fuel reserves as India extends help

Amidst an enervating crisis, the Sri Lankan energy minister has issued a stark warning over the country’s fuel stocks. Earlier on Sunday, Kanchena Wijesekera told his compatriots that the country was only left with fuel enough to fulfil demands for a single day. He added that the next shipment was not due for more than two weeks. 

Since the beginning of this year, Sri Lanka has been struggling to pay for imports of essentials like fuel, food and medicine. Addressing reporters, Wijesekera said that the island, at present, had only 12,774 tonnes of diesel and 4,061 tonnes of petrol left in its reserves. He further warned that the next shipments of fuel will arrive in the country later this month, but the govt didn’t have enough funds to pay for it. ”Finding money is a challenge. It’s a huge challenge", Wijesekera said. 

It is pertinent to note that Sri Lanka, last week, banned the sale of fuel to private vehicles, according to BBC. Meanwhile, India has announced that it will extend assistance to Sri Lanka and send two ships each of diesel and petrol to the neighbouring nation. Sri Lankan media reported that the first vessel is expected to reach the island somewhere between July 13 and 15, while the other would touch the island between July 29 and 31. 

Rajapaksa pulls all stops to secure fuel

A PTI report stated that county's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa earlier called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to explore options of purchasing oil from Moscow. As Moscow, halts fuel supplies to Europe amid the war in Ukraine, experts have opined that it could redirect its supplies to Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, Gotabaya said that he will embark on a tour of the United Arab Emirates shortly to import fuel from the oil-rich Gulf nation.

The island country was already battling foreign deficits for a few years but its reserve plummeted by around 70% in the past two years. This slashed the government’s purchasing power, limiting the country’s import of foreign goods including essentials like food and fuel. Furthermore, the inability to import from other countries triggered a never before seen inflation, with prices of food increasing by 25 % in the last month alone. It has also led to debilitating power cuts with residents living without electricity for as long as 10 hours at present. 

(Image: AP/Kanchena Wijesekera/Facebook)