United Petroleum Australia has officially launched its operations in Sri Lanka, aiming to enhance the country’s fuel distribution network and ease pressure on domestic fuel supplies. On Thursday, March 22, Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera made the statement, noting an important turning point in Sri Lanka’s energy sector.
Operating under the name United Petroleum Lanka, the company is scheduled to launch its retail petroleum operations on August 28. Twenty filling stations will be used for the first distribution, and by September, there are plans to grow to 150 dealer-owned and operated stations. Using United Petroleum’s vast experience in Australia’s fuel business, the company plans to go even further by building 50 more stations nationwide.
Launch preparations are going strong; fuel shipments have already arrived, and unloading procedures have started. Signing a deal with the Board of Investment (BOI) earlier this year, United Petroleum Lanka Pvt. Ltd. cemented its entry into the Sri Lankan market. This agreement was part of a larger arrangement with the Ministry of Power and Energy to distribute petroleum products nationally.
With this move, United Petroleum joins the ranks of China’s Sinopec, the US-based RM Parks-Shell, and Lanka IOC (LIOC) as the fourth foreign retail player in Sri Lanka’s fuel sector. The government has mandated that all foreign fuel merchants use monies from their parent firms for imports and has outlawed the return of foreign currency from Sri Lanka in order to maintain financial stability and sustainability. The aforementioned initiatives aim to mitigate the fiscal strain on the government-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and guarantee a consistent and dependable fuel supply for the nation.