The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has rejected claims that Sri Lanka paid $286 per barrel for crude oil and said it intends to pursue legal action over reports it described as inaccurate.
Issuing a statement, the CPC Chairman said the corporation imports crude oil solely for the Sapugaskanda refinery.
The first crude oil shipment to arrive in Sri Lanka following recent instability in the Middle East region is scheduled to reach the country on April 17, it said.
The CPC said it has neither paid nor agreed to pay $286 per barrel for any crude oil shipment it has procured or contracted.
Instead, the corporation stated that shipments arriving after the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East have been secured at approximately $71.99, $111.62, $71.81 and $113.29 per barrel. These prices were described by the CPC as favourable compared with prevailing global market rates.
The statement said the CPC has achieved a competitive and advantageous position relative to other market participants.
It also rejected what it described as false statements aimed at damaging the corporation’s reputation, warning that it intends to pursue legal action against parties responsible for spreading misinformation, which it said could create public unrest, anxiety and reputational harm to the institution.
The clarification comes after Georges Elhedery, CEO of HSBC, said oil prices for Asian buyers can be significantly higher than Brent crude benchmarks due to added costs such as insurance, shipping and supply constraints.
“What worries me is not the headlines. Oil headline is above $100, $110,” he said, according to a transcript cited by Bloomberg. “Realistically, if you are now trying to get oil from the Middle East, you may be paying $140, $150.” He added that the highest figure he had heard was $286 in Sri Lanka. (Newswire)