Oman says willing to sell crude oil to Sri Lanka
(Reuters) – Oman is willing to sell crude oil to Sri Lanka, which is scrambling to find an alternative to its threatened primary supply from Iran, Oman’s oil minister said on Friday.
“We have an international trading company and they are willing to look into crude trading with the government or with the petroleum agencies here in Sri Lanka,” Omani Oil Minister Mohammad bin Hamad al-Rumhy told reporters in Colombo.
He declined to say what quantity of crude sales had been agreed, adding Oman was looking at investment opportunities including upgrading its sole refinery.
“We will study the refinery expansion project and see how best we can handle it,” he said.
Sri Lanka for several years has been looking to upgrade its aging 50,000 barrel-per-day Sapugaskanda refinery after a $2 billion upgrade plan with Iran, its main crude supplier, fell through last year.
A petroleum ministry official on condition of anonymity told Reuters that Oman is looking to make an investment of about $500 million investment, including the refinery upgrade and tourism and agriculture.
Source: Reuters
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If Iran has failed to keep its promise to invest $2 billion in upgrade plans to oil refining etc in SL, let’s indeed look elsewhere multi-dimensionally, such as at Oman, Saudi Arabia, Russia etc. Perhaps, the unilateral oil export ban on Iran by USA may work out in our favour! But we must work hard and fast, to secure oil importing and refining investments from these above mentioned countries, at reasonable rates, which will not impede our economic progress. India has however defied USA unilateral ban on oil exports from Iran. India intends to continue its imports from Iran. India is a nuclear missile equipped country, able to take-on US superpower fearlessly, unlike a minnow like SL. I wonder what USA’s response would be to India, if it continues to import crude oil from Iran. India’s economy would be hurt without Iran’s oil at favourable, modest rates. Other oil producers may not give the same favourable rates to India.
of course an alternatine should be found at this juncture of international political arena. Srilanka must look into the longrange way of strategical plan which will be an advantage to coop up the ongoing shaky geopolitical situations of the world in the future, while preserving its friendly sense with the Iran.
If India is able to ignore US unilateral ban on import of oil from Iran, which sanction has not been imposed/approved by UN, then such unilateral ban by USA is totally unjust and India has then a right to continue to import oil from Iran. Would India’s oil supertankers from Iran be protected by Indian Navy? Would Iran’s navy too protect them in the Persian Gulf and passage through Hormuz? It would be interesting to watch the outcome. USA cannot dominate the world and dictate to other countries. I hope China too continue to import oil from Iran and defy USA, to teach USA that China no longer tolerates US dominance and dictats. SL too could then continue to import oil from Iran under the umbrella of India and China. To import oil from Oman and other countries may be costly and affect the economy of SL. New oil refineries may have to be built to be able to refine oil from other suppliers. All this will take time and money which SL can ill afford. I think initially, SL should discuss the issue with USA diplomatically as India has done. If USA is unrelenting, then the matter has to be discussed at UNGA by India, SL and other nations affected by this US imposed ban, and force USA to lift its unjust sanction.
Mr Dias demonstrates a severe anti US complex in his writings. Both India and China also seek World dominance. India is utterly corrupt from top to bottom and China is not democratic.
China is exploting nations all over the world who are poorly resourced or whose resources are not utilised efficiently by its leaders. China has gone onto Africa in a big way supporting tyrannical rulers and offering development aid repayable at exhorbitant interest rates over short periods of time. I beleive they behave similarly towards SE Asian countries including SL. Whilst the western oriented World bank and IMF lend at 1-2%, Chinese development loans are at times greter than 10%. The Chinese loans are more “tied” than IMF and WB loans; Chinese loans require not only Chinese contractors for the work but Chinese laboureres too. Indian development assistance requires even railway sleepers to be imported from India; Contractors and labourers are all from India too! And what more, reusable materials such as steel rail lines are shipped back to India!!
SL was bootlicking Iran but failed miserably to get a deal regarding refurbishment of Sapugaskande. Can any blogger enlighten us on this?
They are all the same; the rich and the powerful nations. No rich and powerful nation will “help” nations such as ours where our rulers have no idea whatsover on how to exploit the resources and talent to the maximum. Minuments are all that our leaders require.
If the LTT could conduct a war for 30 years on paraffin fired internal combustion engines running on coconut oil and home energising on bicycle dynamos, why can’t we borrow a leaf from them and look for alternative energy sources. Travel distances are so short in SL that electric powered transport is an attractive alternative. Instead of thinking on these lines, our leaders are busy conducting exhibitions costing Rs 21,000 million!!
An intersting news story, what can you make of this?
“Major development projects funded by China are to become Chinese entities in the near future with the government’s decision to handover stakes of major development projects to China instead of paying the debt in owes to that country, the main opposition UNP charged yesterday.
UNP National List MP Dr. Harsha De Silva said the Colombo South Terminal of the Colombo Port, the newly built Hambantota Port and the Mattala International Airport would eventually become Chinese entities in the near future with this plan. This he said was because these projects are carried out with Chinese funding which had come in the form of loans.
He said this decision had been made as the Sri Lankan government had realised that it is not in a position to pay the debts to China. Accordingly he said China’s total investments in Sri Lanka would be US$784 million as a result of this move. China had provided loans to Sri Lanka to the tune of that amount.
Coming up with another allegation he said construction contracts of major development projects have been handed over to Chinese companies without tenders. He said the situation is same with the Lotus Tower project for which the foundation stone was laid recently.
Besides he said China Merchant Holdings which had a 55 per cent stake of the Colombo South Terminal at the Colombo Port had managed to increase it to 85 per cent as the 30 per cent stake which was owned by Aitken Spence had been given to the former. He said Aitken Spence had decided to terminate its partnership with Sri Lanka Ports Authority and China Merchant Holdings as a result of a dispute.
Responding to a notion posed by the journalists that China is bringing investments which are essential to Sri Lanka in the wake of other investors turning their backs on Sri Lanka, the UNP MP said investors are drawn away from Sri Lanka because of draconian pieces of legislation such as the ‘Revival of the Underperforming and Underused Assets Bill’ which enables the government to take over entities”
Dear Mahesh,
I am writing in response to your blogs 4 & 5.
USA is shamelessly dominating the world already, except the major nuclear powers. USA is an empire builder, with threats and its military superiority. USA seeks to grab the natural resources of those countries unable to defend themselves against the military superiority of USA. Thereby USA becomes richer. Britain and the other previous colonial powers did the same.
Divide and rule was their policy. USA does the same today. First, through the CIA, rebellion is engendered in a country USA wants a regime change, in order to install a puppet leader, as in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. Now USA is eyeing Syria and Iran to impose a regime change. All these regime changes in these countries are to grab their oil. Without oil, US and EU economies would come to a standstill. USA has engendered, even armed and funded rebel groups in these countries. USA and the allies make it seem legitimate by initially trying to impose sanctions through UN. When it fails, USA and the allies impose ‘unilateral’ sanctions against Syria and Iran, for example, in order to hurt the economies in these countries. They even threaten other countries not to trade with these countries. USA and the allies do not care if such bans affect the economies of smaller nations in turn, eg SL. USA infact wants to hurt SL, as SL did not heed US order not to destroy LTTE terrorists. By destroying the LTTE SL has thwarted US agenda to dominate SE Asia by having a base in SL through LTTE.
The true native Americans were the ‘Red Indians’. They were massacred in vast numbers in the past centuries like animals, by the invading colinialists from Europe, through their sheer military superiority at the time. Even in those days ‘Divide and Rule’ was US policy. One tribe of ‘Red Indians’ was set against another, with the help of the invading colonialists. Ultimately, all the ‘Red Indian’ tribes were dominated. The negro slaves brought in from Africa are not truly free yet. There is massive racial discrimination against them and other minorities in all fields. Unemployment and deep poverty is rife among them. About 50 million are living in utter poverty and degredation in USA. Only a 5% is rolling in wealth. When these people who are so affected rose up in demonstration against the US corporate system, they were brutally repressed, arrested, tortured and imprisoned without trial through ‘military courts’ indefinitely. This is the true picture of life today in USA. There is no democracy in USA nor media freedom. All media is forced into silence about the true situation. Anyone daring to voice against US dictatorship is arrrested and imprisoned as traitors. Such media is shut down.
In SL, we do not have such repression as carried out in USA. We do not have ‘military courts’ trying civilians on bogus charges of treason, as in USA. Our media are truly independent unlike US media. We do not have Guantanamo Bay type prisons where citizens from other countries are secretly ‘rendered’ to USA to be tortured and imprisoned indefinitely without even a proper trial. Thousands are made to ‘disappear’. No media in USA dare to question these injustices. Whichever party comes to power in USA, the policy of world domination remains unchanged.
China has helped us to erradicate LTTE totally when USA and its allies failed to do so. This is because of US agenda to use LTTE for US advantage to dominate SE Asia through having a base in SL, with LTTE consent in return, for its tacit support. India too failed to supply us with arms against LTTE, despite the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. We are therefore eternally indebted to China, in gratitude. Had China not helped us, we would have been overcome by LTTE and whole of SL would have been under LTTE dictatorship. Millions of Tamil Nadu Tamils would have then been allowed to migrate to SL. Sinhalese nation would have been then massacred. USA, Britain, Canada, Australia, UN et alia would have looked aside as they did during the massacres of Cambodia and Ruwanda. The Pol Pot regime was aided by USA as they fought Vietcong. It massacred its own citizens but USA and the West kept mum. So did the UN.
IT IS THE SHEER DOUBLE STANDARDS AND HYPOCRISY OF USA AND THE WEST THAT I DECRY AND HATE!
We are grateful to China for its loans, at reasonable rates. China is aiding us to build our infrastructure. The expertise of Chinese architects, surveyors and engineers are needed for these as well as the machines, materials and technology. Some of our Engineers are also involved in the infrastructure building, under the instructions and tutorship of Chinese experts. Most of the manual labour is from SL. As we develop in all aspects and grow economically, we would be able to repay the loans eventually.
In World War 2, Britain was funded by huge loans from USA. After the WW2 Britain continued to be dependant on US loans for its infrastructure building. The loans were finally paid off only in 1988. So, why does MS and a few others ridicule SL for being dependant on China, for its support in the war against LTTE and China’s post-war support in infrastructure building in SL?
In Britain, there are several US bases. So, why should anyone balk at the idea of giving a base in SL for China in return for its aid and Defence Pact with China, against threat from India and USA? China may also write-off some of our loans in return for a base in SL. We have to mutually help each other. China is a very friendly, helpful country unlike the arrogant, snooty, domineering USA. Britain handed over its colony, the island Diego de Garcia, in the Indian Ocean, to USA for a base, after having totally evacuated by force its citizens to Seychelles and Mauritius, without even paying compensation. So, it is but fair we allow China to have a base in SL for our own security as well.
If China owns 85% of the new extension in Colombo harbour being built by China then so be it, in place of a loan. China would administer it far better than we could administer. Anyway we will get some profit from it and eventaully own it in the long run. Afterall, CAIRN is British and Indian owned off-shore oil-drilling company working in Manar. We get very little profit in return, perhaps 5%. This is because we do not have the finance nor the skills for such a venture, at present.
I can go on at length to answer this query from MS, but I’ll stop for now, as I have written too much already.