Ceylon Petroleum to shut refinery in Sri Lanka

Ceylon Petroleum is expected to shut its 50,000 barrels per day oil refinery in Sri Lanka from Friday, for two weeks.

The move comes after the refinery exhausted its supply of mainly Iranian crude oil, which is scarcely in supply due to Western sanctions.

Ceylon Petroleum is expected to receive its next crude oil shipment from Dubai on 8 or 9 November, when the refinery is expected to restart.

Ceylon Petroleum general manager Susantha Silva told Reuters that the refinery will also undergo maintenance works during the shutdown.

"This does not mean we are going to close down the refinery permanently. This will be a temporary closure," said Silva.

"We are getting one crude parcel from Dubai on 8 or 9 November and one from Saudi Arabia on 13 November.

"[We have] another one scheduled from Abu Dhabi in December. So we have lined up crude for refining."

The company has been facing problems running the refinery at full capacity as other crude such as Arabian light are unable to give the refinery proper yield.

Sri Lanka has reduced its Iranian crude imports by 20% this year. Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris said it disagrees with Western sanctions that are punishing countries that depend on its oil.

Ceylon Petroleum Sapugaskanda refinery on the outskirts of the capital has also been shut following damage to a floating pipeline at the Colombo port.