Sri Lanka’s energy infrastructure is aging, and with time, the risk of disaster continues to increase. Yesterday (16), oil pipelines connecting the Colombo Port to the Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminal Limited in Kollonawa leaked, spilling some 3,000 litres of oil, according to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), the State-owned petroleum supplier. 

The energy infrastructure, particularly the pipeline network, begins from an offshore moored buoy, where tankers discharge their loads, and the on-land storage facilities, which supply the Sapugaskanda Refinery, are about 40–70 years old and are in dire need of modernisation or relaying with new technology.  

Leaks from the existing networks of pipes have caused issues and environmental damage before. In 2018, a leak from one of the pipes which brings crude oil share from the single-point moored buoy off Muthurajawela saw tonnes of crude oil wash ashore and collect in small coves along the western coast, impacting the coastal ecosystem. There have been other spills, some inshore and others on land. In December 2015, approximately 52,000 litres of oil leaked into the Muthurajawela lagoon from a corroded pipeline, flooding the area with kerosene. Muthurajawela is known as Sri Lanka’s biggest saline wetland and the home to purple herons, cormorants and kingfishers. The leak came only months after Sri Lanka became the first country in the world to protect all its mangrove forests.

In 2015, the then Government had plans to call for international bids to rebuild a pipeline network from Colombo Port to a storage terminal at Kolonnawa, six kilometres away. At the time the Government called the existing pipeline network that carries oil 40-70 years old as one in a “very dilapidated condition”. The then Cabinet of Ministers approved a proposal by the Power and energy Minister to build a new pipeline network, and the CPC Storage Terminals was tasked to carry out a full study of the infrastructure and other facilities required for the production and movement of refined products. There were plans to call for open international tender for the selection of a suitable contractor to rebuild the pipeline network. However, the required work was never completely carried out. Previous plans to lay new pipelines were stalled by the need to remove squatters living on the route selected to lay the pipeline, acquisition of land and selection of a suitable contractor for the project, and a lack of political will to alienate the voter base.

Speaking to the media, CPC Chairperson D.J.A.S. Rajakaruna said that the location of the defect had been identified, and the supply had returned to normal by yesterday afternoon (16). He also stated that around 3,000 litres of oil had leaked. However, most of the leaked oil had been collected, Rajakaruna stated, adding that the unloading process of oil was carried out uninterrupted and that there are no reports of an oil leak into the sea. "The leak was reported around 8 p.m. yesterday (15). As soon as the leak was identified, employees started collecting the oil, and later, we were able to confirm that the leak was in the 12-inch pipeline, not the 10-inch one. The shipment was completely unloaded. No oil leaked into the sea,” he said.

Rajakaruna added that tenders had been approved to upgrade the existing pipelines, which were built many years ago. "This pipeline system was first built 80 years ago. Since around 2003, previous governments have taken various measures to renovate it, yet nothing happened. Now we have received approval for a tender for an 18-inch pipeline,” he said.

Given the need for Sri Lanka to have credible energy security and to ensure there are no disruptions and environmental crises like we have witnessed in the past, such aging critical infrastructure must be audited and modernised in line with global best practices and standards. Sri Lanka can ill-afford another large-scale eco-pollution incident. The Government must be cognisant of the risks at play and the impact of past incidents, including that of MV X-Press Pearl. The time for action is already late, the Government should act quickly.