Cash-strapped Sri Lanka received Russian oil on Saturday, which could be subject to a European embargo soon, to begin operations at the country’s only refinery, according to the energy minister.

The island nation is experiencing its worst economic downturn since independence, with fuel and other essentials shortages making life difficult for its 22 million citizens.

Following Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange crisis, which left the government unable to fund imports, particularly crude, the state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) refinery was shut down in March.

The Russian petroleum delivery had been waiting for almost a month offshore of Colombo’s port because the country had been unable to gather $75 million to pay for it, according to energy minister Kanchana Wijesekera.

Despite US-led sanctions on Russian banks and a diplomatic outcry over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Colombo is in talks with Moscow to arrange direct supply of petroleum, coal, fuel, and petrol.

Wijesekera told reporters in Colombo, “I have made an official request to the Russian envoy for direct supply of Russian oil.”

“Crude alone will not meet our needs; we also require other refined (petroleum) products.”

After being purchased on credit from Dubai-based intermediary Coral Energy, some 90,000 tonnes of Siberian light crude will be shipped to Sri Lanka’s refinery.

According to Wijesekera, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) is currently $735 million in debt to suppliers, and no one has expressed interest in bidding for its oil tenders.

He went on to say that the Siberian grade was not an ideal match for the refinery, which is designed to process Iranian light crude, but that no other supplier was ready to give credit.

Despite this, Sri Lanka will issue new supply tenders in two weeks, before the stock of Siberian light runs out, according to Wijesekera.

To solve a severe shortage, the Sapugaskanda refinery on Colombo’s outskirts will reopen in approximately two days and generate about 1,000 tonnes of diesel daily.

[embedpost slug=”/sri-lanka-in-talks-for-100-million-emergency-funding-from-beijing-backed-bank/”]

On Monday, European Union officials will meet in Brussels to discuss a new wave of penalties against Russia related to the Ukraine war, including an oil embargo.

Russian oil is already subject to a US embargo, and its barrels have been trading at a significant discount to international benchmarks since the crisis began.

– Protest milestone – As a result of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis, motorists have formed enormous lines outside gas stations, waiting hours, if not days, for scarce supplies of petrol and cooking gas.

Its citizens also face a severe shortage of imported food and pharmaceuticals, as well as record inflation and protracted daily blackouts.

Anti-government rallies became violent earlier this month, killing nine people and injuring dozens more.

Saturday marked the 50th day of a protest outside President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office in Colombo, demanding his resignation over the government’s economic mismanagement.

Meanwhile, hundreds of activists led by university students marched through Colombo’s streets, clashing with police defending Rajapaksa’s official residence’s access roads.

Tear gas and water cannon were used by police to disperse demonstrators who were tearing down yellow-painted iron barricades.

According to witnesses, two people were briefly arrested by police and then released.

There were no significant injuries reported, although ambulances were spotted transporting persons who had been exposed to tear gas.