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ECONOMYNEXT – Chairman of Sri Lanka’s state-run Litro Gas Lanka Ltd Theshara Jayasinghe, at the centre of a cooking gas explosion controversy and shortages is to be replaced, sources said.

Jayasinghe’s pending removal comes in the wake of an unprecedented gas shortage in the country, followed by a series of explosions.

Meanwhile, samples of a gas shipment that is in Colombo port has been sent to the laboratories to check for quality before unloading.

There is speculation that Administrative Secretary of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Renuka Perera could be made chairman of Litro. (Colombo/ Jan 13/2022)

COLOMBO (News 1st); Although Sri Lanka’s Joint Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Dr.Ramesh Pathirana admits that the country is currently facing a dollar crisis, the Government is of the stance that the country will settle the USD 500 Million worth of International Sovereign Bonds (ISB) due on the 18th of January 2022. Minister Pathirana said every Sri Economists question decision to repay sovereign bonds amidst depleting reserves

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka’s ailing economy continues to plunge into further chaos. Economists opine, power outages, endless gas queues, acute shortages of chemical fertilizer despite permission being granted to import and companies limiting the import of milk powder is all a result of the deepening economic crisis. Sri Lanka’s Dollar reserves, an essential counter Sri Lanka’s Top Economists demand USD 500 Mn ISB settlement be stopped

The Maya writing system was used in what is now Mexico and Central America for almost two thousand years, until after the arrival of...

COLOMBO (News 1st); ‘Shortage’ is a word that is on almost every Sri Lankan’s tongue. Milk powder, gas, fertilizer, and Dollars to name a few. Due to the shortage of gas throughout the country, the distribution of gas in some areas today had to be done amidst police security. Many who waited in long queues Gas distributed amidst police protection as shortage takes its toll

Bomb blasts, luxury watches, and loud snoring: the remarkable story behind Sri Lanka's World Cup triumphANDREW FIDEL FERNANDO  |  MARCH 2015 Before the ball has crossed the...

ECONOMYNEXT – Laugfs Gas, Sri Lanka’s privately owned cooking gas company is unable to import liquid petroleum (LP) gas due to a lack of dollars in the market making it difficult for the company to open letters of credit (LCs) with its banks, the company’s chairman said on Monday (03).

“We are talking to all the banks, even Samurdhi banks, to see if they can give us dollars,” Laugfs Chairman W K Wegapitya told EconomyNext.

“Sri Lanka’s commercial banks and state-owned banks must organise dollars. It’s not just for us; it’s the same for importers of cement, milk powder and many others.”

“In the simplest terms any country should have foreign reserves to import products. Sri Lanka doesn’t print dollars; we print only rupees.”

Wegapitya told reporters earlier Monday morning that his company has the infrastructure to supply cooking gas to Sri Lanka within two weeks if the LCs could be be duly opened.

He said that the company was supplying around 40,000 to 50,000 gas cylinders per day but now it’s only able to distribute around 10,000 to 15,000 cylinders after the Consumers Affairs Authority (CAA) and Sri Lanka’s Standards Institution (SLSI) increased the requirement of quality checks for gas distributors after a spate of domestic gas cylinder explosions.

Laughs Gas controls around 20 percent of the LP gas market in Sri Lanka while the state owned Litro Gas Lanka Ltd supplies 80 percent.

Litro said yesterday that the company will take at least three weeks to supply gas to reach normal market levels due to tightened safety regulations for gas distributors.

The distribution delay has already led to a black market for LP gas. A 12.5 kg cylinder, which is officially priced at 2,750 rupees, is being sold around 4,500 rupees in some places, local media reported. (Colombo/Jan03/2022)

COLOMBO (News 1st);  Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP Dr Harsha de Silva questioned as to why the Government cannot issue dollars to release the containers with essential items which are halted at the Port. Speaking on the current economic crisis in the country, MP Dr de Silva said that the public is currently suffering due to If reserves increased, why not issue dollars? – MP Dr Harsha de Silva

ECONOMYNEXT – Litro, Sri Lanka’s state owned liquid petroleum gas company currently embroiled in a controversy surrounding domestic gas cylinder-related explosions, said it will release 180,000 cylinders to the market in the next few weeks as demand for cooking gas increases in the market.

“Due to the high levels of demand for Litro gas, the company hopes to release 180,000 cylinders to the market, and its daily filling and distribution activities will take place 24 hours a day,” Chamani Pathirage, a spokesperson for Litro Gas Lanka Ltd said.

The company assured consumers that there will be no further shortage of gas cylinders in the market as it is taking measures to avoid future interruptions to the supply.

“We are trying to import machinery to improve quality and to speed up the manufacturing process to cover the time spent at the filling stations due to quality control of canisters,” Pathirage added.

More than 800 cooking gas explosions have been recorded in Sri Lanka since October 2021.

Last week a presidential committee concluded that most of the gas explosions were due to composition change in LPG.

“The cylinders, regulators, stoves, and other equipment have remained unchanged. What was subjected to change was the gas composition,” Prof Shantha Walpolage, the head of the committee appointed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, told reporters on December 22.

In April, Litro introduced a hybrid gas with a 50:50 (Butane and Propane) composition different to the historically used 70:30.

As a short term solution, the expert proposed that the propane content in the gas cylinder be reduced to 30 percent while adding more ethyl mercaptan, a pungent-smelling chemical compound used as an additive for consumers to detect any leaks, to the mix.

The Court of Appeal earlier this month ordered that both Litro and Laugfs maintain a mix of 70 percent butane and 30 percent propane in the LP gas cylinders they sell, following the revelation.

Experts have hypothesised that increasing the propane content of the cylinder to 50 percent had resulted in high pressure which had led to leaks from the cylinder. However, this has yet to be proven scientifically. (Colombo/Dec30/2021)