IOC plans to expand presence in Sri Lanka

Indian Oil Corp. Ltd. (IOC) has announced plans to expand its presence in Sri Lanka. . Lanka IOC, which operates 150 retail outlets, has sought the Sri Lankan government’s approval to open 300 more outlets over the next five years, a decision media reports speculated was prompted by the possibility of long-term peace due to the Colombo military’s defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), better known as the Tamil Tiger rebels. “Once we are allowed to go and make an assessment of the northern part, there will be further scope for expanding our presence there,” K.R. Suresh Kumar, managing director of Lanka IOC P.L.C., said. Lanka IOC retails petroleum products and supplies them in bulk to industrial consumers out of a storage facility in Trincomalee in northeast Sri Lanka. IOC’s business plan is based on the premise that surplus refining capacity in India will be used to supply the Sri Lankan market. Sri Lanka’s petroleum demand totals 3.5 million tons per year while the country has an annual refining capacity of only 2.2 million tons. Automobile demand in the island nation of 20 million people is expected to grow as construction of new roads, bridges and buildings takes off. (May 27, 2009)