The Chairman of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) said so at the COPE meeting chaired by Prof. Charitha Herath met in Parliament yesterday (19) to discuss the Special
Audit Report on the storage and distribution of petroleum. He further said that the government was able to take advantage of this due to the fall in the price of a barrel of crude oil last year and several other reasons.
The Chairman of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation stated 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 Kolonnawa storage and steps have already been taken to repair it, officials said. CPC officials further stated that measures have been taken to provide a new house for each existing house in the pipeline. In particular, MP S.M. Marikkar pointed out the need to provide a home for each of these families.
The COPE also drew attention to the possibility of using the existing oil tanks in the Trincomalee and Hambantota areas for the needs of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation.
Officials of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation said that steps have been taken to develop 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 capabilities of these developments.
The committee also drew attention to the commencement of oil transport by train and it was revealed that 30% of the fuel is already being transported by train and it will be increased to 42% soon. The COPE commended this move.
