The Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery has generated a profit of US$417 million during the first nine months of this year, according to Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) Chairman D.J. Rajakaruna.
He made the statement during an interview organised by the Department of Government Information.
Rajakaruna said the refinery, which had previously been earmarked for closure and removed from the CPC under a Cabinet-approved decision, had demonstrated significant profitability during the period.
He further stated that the refinery had saved the country more than US$1 billion in foreign exchange over the nine months.
Despite the ongoing crisis, the CPC had recorded a profit of Rs. 28 billion during the first nine months, he said.
He added that the Corporation was working according to a planned strategy and expected to record a profit of between Rs. 28 billion and Rs. 30 billion by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Rajakaruna said the benefits of the recent decline in global fuel prices would be passed on to consumers in the coming period.
He noted that reports of a decline in international oil prices had emerged only recently, following a prolonged period of rising prices, and said the CPC was closely monitoring developments.
He said the benefits would be passed on to consumers once they materialised.
Comparing current domestic fuel prices with those in February, Rajakaruna said petrol prices had increased from Rs. 292 to Rs. 424 per litre, while auto diesel prices had risen from Rs. 281 to Rs. 397 per litre.
He said these increases were lower than the corresponding rises in global market prices, attributing the difference to government subsidies.
According to Rajakaruna, the Government had provided a subsidy of Rs. 100 per litre for diesel and Rs. 20 per litre for petrol during April, May and June.
He added that a subsidy of Rs. 70 per litre had been provided for diesel in the previous month, while Rs. 41 billion had been allocated for subsidies during the current month.
He said these subsidies had helped keep domestic fuel prices significantly below levels that would otherwise have reflected international market prices. (Newswire)
