CPC going for open tender on LPG?

PROTECTION LAWS: Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) is analysing going for a open tender to sell Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG).

Chairman of the CPC Asantha de Mel told the Daily News that they are in the process of checking whether this tendering is against the consumer protection laws of the country. “At the moment our legal officers are in the process of finalizing this”, he said.

At present CPC is providing LPG produced at its refinery to LAUGFS gas to provide gas at a low price to the consumers.

But this agreement will end in April with LAUGFS.

Chairman of LAUGFS Group of Companies W.K.H. Wegapitiya said that 30% of their total LPG requirement is fulfilled through the LPG produced at the CPC refinery. The balance is imported.

LAUGFS purchased LPG from CPC for the Saudi benchmark rate without freight charges. This cost cutting was passed on to the customer by reducing LAUGFS gas price by over Rs. 20, compared with other competitors in the market, he said.

Due to this open tender procedure LAUGFS will have to import their total LPG requirement and could not pass the benefit of the price reduction to the consumers.

‘We have informed all the authorities and this open tender will make a monopoly in the local LPG market,’ he said.

CPC produces about eight percent of Sri Lanka’s annual LPG demand. ( A.S )