COLOMBO: Short on money A day after declaring that it had almost run out of petroleum, Sri Lanka on Sunday declared that it would be sending ministers to Russia and Qatar to try and get inexpensive oil.
In the interim, in order to conserve fuel, the government extended a two-week closure of non-essential public institutions until further notice, maintaining only a skeleton staff to deliver bare-bones services.
Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera reported that two ministers will visit Russia on Monday to talk about acquiring more oil following the purchase of 90,000 tonnes of Siberian crude last month.
Politicians have urged the government to negotiate directly with President Vladimir Putin’s administration, but that cargo was organised by Coral Energy, a middleman with offices in Dubai.
