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Don’t be misled by rumours, country has enough petrol, says ministry
By next week, the country’s petrol stocks will increase to about 70,000 metric tonnes (MT) — enough to meet the demand for more than three weeks — and any rumours of a petrol shortage should be dismissed outright, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources Development Ministry said.
Queueing up for petrol: A recent scene in Colombo
Ministry Secretary Upali Marasinghe revealed that three vessels carrying fuel were due in the country within the next two weeks. One vessel is due to arrive today and another on Tuesday. These new stocks, along with what is in storage, will increase petrol stocks to about 70,000MT. “That should be enough to last us somewhere till December 15-20,” he emphasised. Meanwhile, another fuel tanker is due in Colombo during the first week of December.
As such, he urged the public to not be misled by rumours of a petrol shortage. Such rumours again caused panic last Sunday in several areas of the island. “According to our information, the rumours first started circulating in Kandy that evening,” Mr Marasinghe said. By that night, the rumours had spread to Colombo and other parts of the country, prompting panicked motorists to queue outside filling stations in scenes reminiscent of the chaos during the petrol crisis early this month.
The secretary said that at the time of the rumors last Sunday, the country had 30,000MT of petrol in storage — enough to last 15 days.
The rumours though, again sent petrol demand spiralling sharply from the daily average.
When it became clear that panic was spreading, the Secretary said it was decided to issue more petrol than what was needed for daily consumption. “We sent a lot more bowsers than usual to filling stations to ensure that the increased demand was met,” he said. Instead of the usual 2,500MT, officials released 3,500-4,000MT on November 19 and 20.
The ministry even introduced a special 24-hour hotline for the public to make inquiries regarding fuel supply and related matter.
By 2 p.m. on Monday, the situation had come to normal, after people gradually came to realise that the alleged fuel shortage was only a rumor, the official added.
With the Ministry lodging an official complaint with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) over the issue, CID detectives now have the task of tracking down those who circulated the rumours. Officials said Ministry is hoping to find if the rumours were circulated as part of a coordinated effort to create chaos. Several senior CPC officials provided statements to the CID on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the appointment of the three-member committee to identify any officials who were responsible for this month’s petrol crisis has been delayed till next week.
While names for the committee were to be finalised this week, Mr Marasinghe said nominees were still being scrutinised. But he stressed the panel would be in place by next week. They are due to conclude the probe in three weeks and submit a report.