Sri Lanka has virtually no oil or foreign currency to buy food

A Sri Lankan waits in the middle of a road after traffic was blocked due to a protest demanding petrol, in Colombo June 24, 2022. With the ongoing oil crisis, many Sri Lankans are queuing for days during in front of gas stations, in case there is a delivery.

AP - Eranga Jayawardena

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

Sri Lanka is practically out of petrol and diesel, the Minister of Energy announced on Saturday June 25, apologizing to motorists for the aggravation of the oil crisis.

The only refinery in the country has closed for lack of crude oil.

The country is undergoing the worst economic crisis in its history, and no longer has enough foreign exchange reserves to finance the most essential products such as food, oil and medicine.

Advertising

Read more

The Sri Lankan energy minister announced that

last week had not taken place.

Kanchana Wijesekera also said that those scheduled for next week will not arrive either, for banking reasons.

The minister added that state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) was unable to say when the island will receive new oil deliveries.

The company also closed its sole refinery for lack of crude oil, he added, while the refinery had to use 90,000 tonnes of Russian crude oil earlier this month, purchased through a Dubai company, Coral Energy, thanks to on two-month credits.

The rare stocks of gasoline available will therefore be distributed sparingly: public transport and the supply of electricity will be given priority, added the minister.

Due to this unprecedented energy crisis, the Sri Lankan government has also closed for two weeks certain public institutions deemed non-essential, including schools.

Several hospitals have also reported severe staffing cutbacks due to fuel restrictions.

For several months, the country has been plagued by a colossal public debt, which amounts to 51 billion dollars, and which Sri Lanka is unable to repay.

At the cost of foreign currency, the country can no longer supply

.

This lacks in particular basic necessities, medicines, and shows its distress every day.

Sri Lanka defaulted in April. It is now negotiating with the IMF for a possible bailout.

►Also read and listen

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_EN

• Sri Lanka

• Oil

• Economic crisis

• Raw materials