Lanka IOC explores refinery project

Moves are afoot by Lanka IOC, the subsidiary of Indian Oil Corporation, to set up an oil refinery in war-ravaged Trincomalee, in the northeast part of Sri Lanka. We have held talks with the Indian Oil Corporation to this effect. But there is yet to be any formal application,” Petroleum and Petroleum Resources Development Minister A.H. M. Fawzy said. Lanka IOC is the only private oil company that operates retail petrol stations in Sri Lanka. The annual demand for petroleum products is 4 million metric tons, with the single existing refinery having a capacity of only 2 million metric tons per year. (October 15, 2007)