Sri Lanka’s Energy Minister said that fuel stocks in the country, which is experiencing the worst economic crisis in the last 70 years, are about to run out.
Kanchana Wijesekera warned that if there is normal demand, the country will run out of fuel in less than a day.
The minister also announced that the next oil delivery to the country will take place in more than two weeks.
Sri Lanka, struggling to pay for imported goods such as fuel, food and medicine, last week banned the sale of gasoline and diesel to private vehicles.
Wijesekera said 12,774 tons of diesel fuel and 4,061 tons of gasoline remained in the country, adding that “the next oil deliveries are expected on July 22 and 23.”
Another diesel fuel delivery is expected over the weekend, but Wijesekara also warned that the country does not have enough money to make the planned fuel and crude oil purchases.
Stating that the Central Bank of Sri Lanka can only give 125 million dollars for fuel purchases, the minister emphasized that 587 million dollars are required for planned purchases.
Wijesekera also stated that the country owes $800 million to seven suppliers from the purchases it has made this year.
Last week in Sri Lanka, the sale of fuel to private vehicles was banned for two weeks.
Experts believe Sri Lanka was the first country to ban the sale of fuel to the public since the oil crisis of the 1970s.
The island nation of 22 million is experiencing its worst economic crisis since gaining independence from Britain in 1948, and the country is struggling to find the foreign exchange needed to import essential products.
As fuel, food and medicine shortages increased the cost of living in the country, protests were also held in the streets.
The government blames the Covid-19 outbreak, which negatively affects tourism, the country’s largest source of foreign currency. But many say the problem is the mismanagement of the economy.
The country failed to pay its foreign debt for the first time in its history and went into default in May.