Sri Lanka is set to consider buying oil from the US in a bid to reduce the trade gap between Sri Lanka and the US and further reduce reciprocal tariffs between the two countries.
In an interview with the Daily Mirror, Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando said that Sri Lanka’s monthly fuel bill is around $300-400 million, and if it is cost-effective, it can consider importing from the US.
However, the Minister has also pointed out that there is an obstacle to buying oil under government-to-government deals. This is because no government agency is involved in the fuel trade in the US.
“We can discuss the possibility of importing oil. We are not importing oil from the US at present. That does not mean we are ignoring other tender processes. Cost is something we have to consider. Addressing this particular issue, we want to buy them at a cost equivalent to the current cost. If that requirement is met, we can do it. We discussed this at the beginning. If we want to go for non-essential or government-to-government purchases, we have the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation. But there is no such government agency to sell oil in the US. Its agencies are private.”
Meanwhile, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has requested a sample of WTI crude oil used in the US for specification testing. Sri Lanka imports about 180,000 tonnes of crude oil and 200,000 tonnes of refined products.
It takes about 21 days for a fuel consignment to arrive from the US. However, according to a source at the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, American companies are ready to participate in the tender process to supply fuel here.