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Fuel quality: Octane 80 petrol to be ‘upgraded’ to 92 standards

09 Oct 2022

  • Over 4,500 MT of low-grade petrol refined in July and August
  • Petrol to be supplied to the market after ‘upgrade’: Refinery OM
  • PUCSL fuel quality test report due this week, talks to resume
  • Motorists express concerns over fuel quality affecting vehicles
By Asiri Fernando  The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) yesterday (8) confirmed to The Sunday Morning that the stock of low quality (octane 80-85) petrol which had been refined by the Sapugaskanda Refinery and was currently in the possession of the CPC would be ‘upgraded’ to 92 octane standards. It is reliably learnt that the CPC refinery, which is using outdated technology, had also used a new crude oil – Ural Crude – which has run into much controversy in the past few weeks, accumulating 2,300 MT of octane 80-85 petrol during the month of July and a further 2,400 MT during the month of August. The refinery had also produced a stock of 2,500 MT of low-grade petrol when it was returned to operational use in December last year. CPC Sapugaskanda Refinery Operations Manager (OM) Harindra Kodagoda told The Sunday Morning that the refinery had refined low-grade octane 80-85 petrol and had stocks of it. When asked what would be done with the low-grade petrol stocks, Kodagoda stated that the CPC would ‘upgrade’ them to octane 92 standards and supply the fuel to the local market. However, he declined to comment on how the octane 80-85 petrol would be upgraded and what additional cost the State petroleum supplier would incur to do so. A senior official at the Ministry of Power and Energy told The Sunday Morning on terms of anonymity that the upgrade process usually involved blending diesel with the low-grade petrol to increase its octane level. According to the Ministry official, the Sapugaskanda Refinery generates low-grade petrol during the early stages of the startup process following a period of shutdown. Meanwhile, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) plans to engage petroleum sector stakeholders next week on quality control, following the completion of a fuel quality test report that the regulator is compiling, it is learned. According to PUCSL Chairperson Janaka Ratnayake, the regulator has submitted multiple samples of fuel to a local laboratory for quality testing after receiving a number of complaints from motorists and the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) about poor quality fuel being issued to the market. “The quality report of the petrol for several fuel stations which were inspected by us will be made available to us next week. The quality testing was done for petrol and diesel, especially for octane 95. We have received many complaints. One complaint was made by the CAA,” Ratnayake said yesterday (8), adding that once the reports were received, the regulator would initiate discussions at the highest level to rectify any discrepancy. Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Vehicle Importers’ Association President Sirishantha Gamage said that many motorists had expressed concerns about low quality fuel affecting the performance and mechanics of their vehicles. It is understood that the Ural Crude oil, which was imported to keep the State-owned refinery operational, had resulted in the output of excess volumes of low-grade petrol and Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO). The Sunday Morning learns that Sri Lanka opted to purchase Ural Crude oil due to relaxed payment terms by the supplier. Attempts to contact the Minister of Power and Energy and the CPC Chairman regarding the quality and cost of the petroleum products which would be produced from the octane 80-85 stocks proved futile.


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