(BBC): Sri Lanka’s energy minister has issued a stark warning over the country’s fuel stocks as it faces its worst economic crisis in more than 70 years.
On Sunday, Kanchana Wijesekera said the nation only had enough petrol left for less than a day under regular demand.
He also said its next petrol shipment was not due for more than two weeks.
Last week, Sri Lanka suspended sales of petrol and diesel for non-essential vehicles as it struggles to pay for imports like fuel, food and medicines.
Mr Wijesekera told reporters that the country had 12,774 tonnes of diesel and 4,061 tonnes of petrol left in its reserves.
A shipment of diesel is expected to arrive at the weekend, however Mr Wijesekera warned that the country does not have enough money to pay for planned fuel and crude oil imports.
He said Sri Lanka’s central bank could only supply $125m for fuel purchases, far less than the $587m needed for its scheduled shipments.
Mr Wijesekera added that the country owed $800m to seven suppliers for purchases it made earlier this year.
Last week Sri Lanka banned sales of fuel for private vehicles for two week.