A trade unionist said that the sudden valuation of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) was a mystery. A sum of Rs. 648,336 had been paid to the Valuation Department for this sudden valuation.

The sum is to be paid according to voucher number 4600007479 issued on August 9^th. A sum of Rs. 25 lakhs has been paid as an installment.

There are rumors doing the rounds at the CPC that the Indian Oil Company (IOC) is looking at purchasing the Corporation. IOC engineers are currently examining the CPC’s stores and the pipelines that carry oil from the port to the storage facility.

The oil tank farm in Trincomalee has already been leased out to the IOC. There are suspicions that the CPC is to be sold since the Corporation cannot bear the large sums of monies due to be paid to five local and foreign banks involved in the hedging deal with CPC after an international court had ordered the Corporation to make the due payments to the banks.