United Petroleum Australia Pty Ltd has formally entered into a contract with Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Power and Energy to provide petroleum products in the local market. The agreement, inked on February 22, was signed by Dr. Sulakshana Jayawardena, Secretary to the Ministry of Power and Energy, representing the Government of Sri Lanka, and Eddie Hirsch, the owner of United Petroleum Australia.
As part of the deal, the Australian-owned petroleum retailer and importer has been allocated 150 fuel stations across Sri Lanka, along with the authorization to establish an additional 50 new fuel stations. To facilitate its operations in the country, United Petroleum Australia has established a local subsidiary named ‘United Petroleum Lanka Pvt. Ltd.’ Dr. Prabath Samarasinghe, a former Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CEYPETCO) Board Member, has been appointed as the Director and CEO of the Sri Lankan entity.
This venture signifies the initial expansion of United Petroleum Australia’s retail petroleum operations beyond Australia, where the company currently owns and operates over 500 fuel stations.
In a statement regarding the expansion, the Director of United Petroleum Lanka emphasized, “United is a billion-dollar company with a focus on quality, safety, and the environment. The company’s owners believe in benchmarking good practices in the Sri Lankan retail petroleum market to enhance the quality of products and services for its customers.”
The decision to grant licenses to United Petroleum Australia, along with China’s Sinopec and RM Parks of the USA in collaboration with Shell PLC, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers in March 2023. This move aligns with the Sri Lankan government’s initiative, initiated in 2022, to open up the fuel import and retail sales market to companies from oil-producing nations, addressing the foreign exchange crisis. The approval of the Petroleum Products (Special Provisions) Bill by the ministerial consultative committee on power & energy paved the way for new suppliers to enter the local fuel market as importers, distributors, and retail operators for petroleum products.
