A group of fuel station owners affiliated with Sinopec, RM Parks and Lanka IOC staged a silent protest outside the World Trade Centre in Colombo on Tuesday (10), alleging that the companies were failing to provide adequate fuel supplies to their filling stations.
The protesters later gathered outside the Presidential Secretariat, where they submitted a letter outlining their grievances.
They also took steps to submit letters to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), the Chinese Embassy and the Indian High Commission, seeking intervention to resolve the ongoing fuel distribution issues.
The protesters warned that inadequate fuel supplies were making it increasingly difficult to operate filling stations and could cause serious inconvenience to consumers.
They also raised concerns over the existing fuel pricing mechanism, claiming that private companies were restricting supplies because they were unable to sell fuel profitably at the prevailing prices.
The distributors called for the appointment of an independent authority to regulate fuel pricing and ensure transparency in the pricing formula.
Meanwhile, responding to questions from journalists following an event in Colombo, CPC Chairman D. J. Rajakaruna and the Secretary to the Ministry of Energy addressed the ongoing dispute.
Officials explained that private fuel companies had complained of financial losses under the existing pricing structure.
They said the companies were permitted to increase certain fuel prices within limits specified under the pricing formula, pointing out that some operators had already increased the prices of Octane 95 petrol and Super Diesel.
However, officials acknowledged that the government could not directly control the quantities of fuel distributed by private operators under the existing arrangements.
They said the CPC was taking steps to maintain adequate fuel supplies at its filling stations to minimise inconvenience to consumers.
Officials further indicated that if the problem continued, the government would examine the legal provisions governing private fuel operators before deciding on further action.
The dispute comes amid concerns over reduced fuel distribution by private operators, although the CPC has maintained that the country has sufficient fuel stocks and is not facing an overall fuel shortage. (Newswire)