India, Sri Lanka to begin talks on petroleum pipeline

by Staff Writer 03-08-2023 | 9:12 AM

New Delhi and Colombo are set to begin technical discussions that could pave the way for a multi-product petroleum pipeline between the two South Asian nations.

According to Indian Media, the project, which was announced during president Ranil Wickremesinghe’s visit to India in July, is expected to help Sri Lanka improve its energy security at an affordable cost.

Among other things, the meetings are expected to touch on the physical alignment of the petroleum pipeline.

A proposal, currently under discussion, is for the pipeline to run from Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu to Jaffna in Northeast Sri Lanka.

However, these proposals are understood to be at a preliminary stage. The aim of the pipeline will be to improve Sri Lanka’s energy security at an affordable cost.

The talks follow the 2022 economic crisis that left the island-nation facing crippling shortages of energy.

Widespread power cuts and fuel shortages fuelled public discontent, which led to the fall of president Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government, paving the way for Wickremesinghe.