The Sri Lankan government has announced that they are considering purchasing crude oil from Iraq, after US-imposed sanctions on Iran, the island’s main supplier of crude oil.
The announcement follows the US Senate passing another wave of sanctions aimed at Iran’s energy sector. The country was estimated to have provided up to 92% of Sri Lanka’s crude oil prior to the sanctions being put in place.
Foreign ministry secretary Karunatillaka Amunugama stated,
"Oil in northern Iraq is similar to Iranian crude and could be refined (domestically), thereby reducing costs on the import of refined products."
The lack of Iranian crude oil led Sri Lanka to look towards Oman, Saudi Arabia and Singapore in the last year, in hopes of finding a replacement provider, despite Iran offering alternate passages to bypass sanctions.
Three attempts to send ships to obtain Iranian crude oil were also defeated, with the island’s sole oil refinery at having to shut down earlier in October, due to the oil shortage.
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