{"id":155026,"date":"2026-03-06T15:51:27","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T22:51:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=155026"},"modified":"2026-03-06T15:51:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T22:51:27","slug":"hambantota-tank-farm-proposal-with-star-tank-jebel-ali","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2026\/03\/06\/hambantota-tank-farm-proposal-with-star-tank-jebel-ali\/","title":{"rendered":"Hambantota Tank Farm Proposal (with Star Tank, Jebel Ali)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr Sarath Obeysekera<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

My proposal to establish a tank farm in Hambantota with a partner from Jebel Ali could have created a regional petroleum storage and trading hub. Hambantota\u2019s location near the main East\u2013West shipping lane is extremely valuable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If implemented:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Sri Lanka could store strategic petroleum reserves.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Bunkering services for passing vessels could expand.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Fuel could be stockpiled for emergencies or wartime disruptions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Unfortunately, as I noted, corruption and political interference often stalled such projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Development of Muthurajawela Tank Farm<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Chinese-supported expansion helped increase storage near Colombo. That facility is strategically important because it supplies the main refinery and Colombo port demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    However, even with the expansion:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Storage capacity is still limited compared with Singapore or Fujairah.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • It mainly supports domestic supply rather than regional trading.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Expansion of Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      This is one of the largest natural oil storage complexes in Asia, originally built by the British during World War II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      If fully developed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • Over 90+ tanks could store several million barrels of fuel.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • It could become a strategic reserve hub for the Indian Ocean.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • It would support naval and commercial operations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Yet for decades, development was delayed due to political disagreements and geopolitical sensitivities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Marine & Offshore Industry Proposal via Sri Lanka Export Development Board<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        My proposal for marine and offshore engineering development could have created:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        • Ship repair and offshore fabrication yards<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Oil & gas support bases<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Floating storage and offshore logistics<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          With the growth of offshore energy in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka could have positioned itself similarly to **Dubai or Singapore as a regional service hub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

           Strategic Impact Today<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          If Hambantota storage, Trincomalee expansion, and offshore facilities had all been developed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Sri Lanka today could:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n
          • Maintain large strategic fuel reserves.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Offer bunkering and storage for international fleets.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Support naval logistics during regional tensions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Earn significant foreign exchange from fuel trading and storage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

            In times of global instability or war, countries with large petroleum storage capacity have a major strategic advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Observation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            This is a classic example of policy discontinuity and governance failure, where visionary infrastructure proposals were delayed or blocked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Ironically, the strategic value of fuel storage and maritime logistics becomes obvious only during crises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Regards

            Dr Sarath Obeysekera<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Dr Sarath Obeysekera My proposal to establish a tank farm in Hambantota with a partner from Jebel Ali could have created a regional petroleum storage and trading hub. Hambantota\u2019s location near the main East\u2013West shipping lane is extremely valuable. If implemented: Unfortunately, as I noted, corruption and political interference often stalled such projects. Development of Muthurajawela […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[116],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-155026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dr-sarath-obeysekera"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155026"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155026\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":155027,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155026\/revisions\/155027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}