The Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery has generated a profit of USD 417 million over the past nine months, the Chairman of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), D.J. Rajakaruna stated.
He made these remarks while attending a media briefing at the Department of Government Information.
Chairman Rajakaruna said that the refinery, which had previously been earmarked for closure and removal from the CPC, had generated a profit of USD 417 million during the first nine months of this year.
He further stated that the refinery had helped save more than USD 1 billion in foreign exchange for the country during the same period.
He added that the CPC had recorded a profit of Rs. 28 billion during the first nine months, despite the ongoing crisis, and expected to achieve a profit of between Rs. 28 billion and Rs. 30 billion by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, the CPC Chairman said that steps would be taken to pass on the benefits of declining global fuel prices to consumers in the near future.
He noted that reports of a decline in global oil prices had emerged only two days ago, following a prolonged period of rising prices, adding that the CPC was closely monitoring the situation and would pass on the benefits to consumers once they materialised.
Comparing current domestic fuel prices with those in February, Rajakaruna said that the price of a liter of petrol had increased from Rs. 292 to Rs. 424, while the price of auto diesel had risen from Rs. 281 to Rs. 397.
He pointed out that although global fuel prices had increased by around 85%, domestic petrol prices had risen by only around 45%, while auto diesel prices had increased by approximately 43%.
Chairman Rajakaruna attributed this to government subsidies provided during April, May and June, amounting to Rs. 100 per liter of diesel and Rs. 20 per liter of petrol.
He further stated that the government had provided a subsidy of Rs. 70 per liter of diesel last month, while Rs. 41 billion had been allocated for subsidies this month.
According to Rajakaruna, these subsidies had enabled the CPC to maintain domestic fuel prices at levels considerably lower than those reflecting the actual increases in global market prices.
