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More gas-less days due to unloading issues

20 May 2022

 
  • LPG distribution likely to be further delayed
  • Inclement weather, SLPA clearances, and capacity issues cited
  • Litro to COPE today to explain delays 
  BY Pamodi Waravita  Further delays, on multiple occasions, are likely in the distribution of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) due to delays in unloading, despite Litro Gas Lanka Ltd. having paid for two shipments that are in Sri Lankan waters on Monday (16).  Well-placed sources told The Morning yesterday (19) that given good weather, ships are unloaded at sea itself, instead of docking in the harbour.  “If we unload at sea itself, the process is faster. However, since the bad weather continued, one ship docked at the harbour on Wednesday (18) night,” they said.  “But we could not begin the unloading process, as there are a set of clearances we have to obtain with the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), which could not be done in the night. The clearances are needed for the company’s bowsers to go to the harbour while we also have to pay $ 2 per metric tonne of gas to the SLPA.” Furthermore, sources said that when unloading is at the harbour is complete, only around 20,000 tonnes can be unloaded per day, which would inevitably cause further delays in the LPG distribution process.  Meanwhile, speaking in Parliament yesterday (19), Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said that despite reassurances provided by Litro Gas Lanka officials, the unloading of LPG stocks had not taken place on Wednesday night. “We will bring the Litro Gas Lanka officials to the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) to inquire into the delay. This cannot happen like this. We are all working very fast and very late into the night these days,” he said.  Shortly thereafter, Parliament announced in a press release that the management of Litro Gas Lanka Ltd. has been summoned before the COPE today (20) at 11 a.m. on the instructions of Wickremesinghe to inquire into the current gas shortage and related solutions. Multiple attempts by The Morning on Wednesday and yesterday to contact Litro Chairman Vijitha Herath proved futile. Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera noted in Parliament this week that there are four million empty Litro Gas Lanka cylinders as of now, and that it would thus take about 20 days for normalcy to return from the day that distribution commences, if it is carried out at the maximum capacity of 80,000 cylinders per day. The LPG supply has been severely affected due to the economic crisis in the country. Consumers of privately owned Laugfs Gas PLC have complained that stocks have been scarce all year, while state-owned Litro Gas Lanka has faced supply issues as well. Consumers stand in long queues for days on end to obtain a LPG cylinder, which has affected families, home-run businesses, small businesses, and larger restaurants.  


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