LNP – CPC to form new subsidiary company to develop Trinco oil tank farm

The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) is planning to form a new subsidiary company named ‘Trinco Petroleum Terminals Ltd’ to develop the Trincomalee oil tank farm.

An agreement is slated to be signed with Lanka IOC and other relevant stakeholders within a month for the joint development of the oil tank farm, the CPC chairman Sumith Abeysinghe said.

The storage complex was built by the British during World War II to serve as a refuelling station, however, they fell in to disuse after the British ceded power in 1948.

The oil tanks, which are adjacent to the Trincomalee Port are nearly a century old and need to be refurbished if they are to be used again.

Spread across Lower Tank farm and Upper Tank Farm, it consists of 99 storage tanks with a capacity of 12,000 kilolitres each. Fourteen of these tanks are run by Lanka OIC. The new subsidiary firm is expected to develop the remaining 85 oil tanks.

Speaking to ‘The Hindu’ recently, Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila said Sri Lanka and India are now close to finalising the terms of the Trincomalee project, following 16-month negotiations.