India delivered 40,000t (298,000 bl) diesel to Sri Lanka to help with the island nation's immediate fuel needs as it faces its worst foreign exchange (forex) crisis.
The Indian high commissioner handed over the fuel consignment from India's state-controlled refiner IOC to Sri Lanka's energy minister Udaya Gammanpila today. The country heavily depends on imports as it consumes around 110,000 b/d of oil products, but produces only around 35,000 b/d.
India offered Sri Lanka a $500mn line of credit to purchase oil products last month. Sri Lanka also received $400mn from India under the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (Saarc) currency swap framework. An ACU settlement of $515mn was also differed by two month.
The forex crunch had pushed Sri Lanka to temporarily shut is only 50,000 Kelaniya refinery in December.
