Colombo: Sri Lanka has sought a $ 500 million loan from India to buy petroleum products amid a severe financial crisis. Sri Lanka is paving the way for petrol pumps to be kept empty.
This is the first time since independence from Britain in 1948 that Sri Lanka is going through such a dire economic situation. Due to lack of money for imports, the country is facing shortage of various commodities, including essential commodities.
Earlier, Sri Lanka had bought US $ 500 million from India and later US $ 200 million. On Monday, India delivered 40,000 metric tonnes of petrol to Sri Lanka. The same amount of diesel was given days ago.
The country has raised fuel prices amid a severe financial crisis. Petrol prices were hiked by 24.3 per cent and diesel by 38.4 per cent. Sri Lanka is also exploring the possibility of oil exploration in the Mannar Basin in the Indian Ocean.
It is estimated that there are 5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The government concludes that this is enough to meet Sri Lanka’s energy needs for the next six decades. The natural gas reserve was discovered in 2011.
English Summary: Sri Lanka Seeks $500 Million Loan From India For Fuel Costs Amid Crisis, planning to study oil exploration at Mannar Basin