16 February 2021 12:00 am
By Yohan Perera
The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) saved USD 300 million in terms of foreign exchange last year , CPC chairman Sumith Wijesinghe informed Committee on Public Enterprises ( COPE) recently, Parliament media unit said.
CPC Chairman said so at the recent COPE meeting chaired by Prof. Charitha Herath to discuss the Special Audit Report on the storage and distribution of petroleum.
He said that the government was able to take advantage of this due to the drop of crude oil prices last year in the world market and several other reasons.
The Chairman said this in response to a question raised by Parliamentarian S.M. Marikkar on the profit made by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation during the last year due to the fall in crude oil prices.
Ministers Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Mahinda Amaraweera, State Minister Indika Anuruddha, Members of Parliament Patali Champika Ranawaka, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Nalin Bandara, Eran Wickramaratne, Premnath C. Dolawatta, S.M. Marikkar, S. Rasamanikkam and Isuru Dodangoda were present at this meeting. MP Isuru Dodangoda also participated as an observer.
Also, discussions were held regarding the pipeline carrying oil from the port premises to the Kolonnawa storage and steps had already been taken to repair it, officials said. CPC officials further stated that measures had been taken to provide a new house for each existing house. In particular, MP S.M. Marikkar pointed out the need to provide a home for each of those families.
The COPE also drew attention to the possibility of using the existing oil tanks in the Trincomalee and Hambantota for the requirements of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation.
Officials of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation said that steps have been taken to develop the Muthurajawela and Kolonnawa terminals in order to improve the storage capacity of fuel. The COPE Chairman recommended CPC officials to submit a feasibility report to the COPE on the merits of those developments.
The committee also drew attention to the commencement of oil transport by train and it was revealed that 30% of fuel was already being transported by train and it would be increased to 42% soon. The COPE commended this move.