Sri Lanka looks at Oman for oil supply

MUSCAT — The Sri Lankan Embassy in the Sultanate of Oman has welcomed the host country’s likeliness to support the island nation with suf cient oil supply in case it is needed, according to Asoaka Girihagama, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Oman.

Dr Mohammed bin Hamad al Rumhy, Minister of Oil and Gas, had held talks with his Sri Lankan counterpart Susil Premajayantha, who is looking for a new source of oil supply in the midst of very limited options.

Speaking to the Observer, he said: “We had two Gulf countries on our cards to seek for oil supply in case the US sanctions on Iran hit our oil in ow, which are Oman and another country in the region. Finally, we decided to approach the Sultanate and we are happy about it”.

He said the ministerial meeting and the discussions were made possible with the support of the Omani mission in New Delhi.

“The two ministers had discussed in detail how Oman could assist Sri Lanka in the event of a crisis, which is, if Sri Lanka is unable to import crude oil from Iran”, according to the Sri Lankan Daily Mirror newspaper.

‘Nearly all of Sri Lanka’s crude supply comes from Iran and the 50,000-barrel-per-day Sapugaskanda re nery was built to process only Iranian light sweet crude or the similar Arabian Light’, the Daily Mirror adds.

The Lankan ambassador further said that there would be an exclusive Sri Lankan trade fair featuring the country’s traditional merchandise and other attractions in Oman.

“We will hold an exclusive Sri Lankan trade fair in the Sultanate by May or June 2012. We are currently in talks with various companies and almost 50 companies will be participating in this event”.