News
From bad diesel to usable diesel
View(s):In a convoluted way out of the contaminated diesel saga, the Government will now try to adjust the composition (the mix of components) of the fuel to make it compatible with the engines. State owned vehicles will undergo “special tests” to find the right mix for their engines, Petroleum Minister Susil Premajayantha said yesterday.
The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) will adjust the composition of the fuel to suit buses, trains, cranes and ambulances instead of rejecting some 75,000 tons of contaminated diesel now in CPC depots.
Minister Premajayantha admitted that some of the engines were incompatible with the diesel imported. More than 250 state owned buses, more than 1,000 private buses, 18 cranes and at least 50 train engines were affected by contaminated diesel during the past three weeks.
A further stock of 20,000 tons of diesel was accepted by the CPC from the same supplier even after the contaminated diesel was discovered. The CPC is investigating the imports while the stocks are being distributed.Minister Premajayantha said “special tests” would be done at the CPC’s main refinery at Sapugaskanda by checking some engines with the diesel that will be pumped into them.
Report inconclusive
A three member committee appointed to study the issue of substandard fuel handed over its report early this week, but it has not been able to identify the reasons for the damage caused to vehicles. It has recommended that the CPC should await the two lab reports from overseas.
Minister Premajaynatha said that purchases from Vitol remained suspended, but a spokesperson for the company dismissed the claim and said it would continue with its supplies.
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