September 16, 2026: Fuel stations across Sri Lanka are receiving less diesel than they order, and the distributors who run them have taken the problem to the country's President. The Fuel Distributors' Association said on Monday that three private suppliers — Indian Oil Corporation's local subsidiary Lanka IOC (LIOC), China's Sinopec and the US-based RM Parks — are filling orders only in part, and asked the government to step in before the shortfall spreads further through the network.

"We seek the intervention of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to settle this problem," association representative Kumar Rajapaksa told reporters. He put the effect on his members plainly. "They only supply reduced quantities for orders. This has badly affected our capacity to run fuel distribution outlets," he said.

Diesel carries more of Sri Lanka's economy than any other fuel. It moves public transport, runs farm and construction machinery and drives industrial equipment, and it fills private vehicles and the backup generators that businesses depend on.

(Source: PSU watch)