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Politicians often make statements that contain misleading or exaggerated information. Here is a fact check we conducted regarding a statement made by one of the NPP parliamentarians during a televised media discussion.
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National People’s Power Parliamentarian Lakmali Hemachandra stated at the Derana Channel’s ‘Wadapitiya’ program that the direct investment of Sinopec, the largest in Sri Lankan history, entered the country during their government, and added that agreements with the company were made only under their leadership.
She further emphasised that although Sinopec has been holding discussions with various governments in Sri Lanka for several years, it was only with the National People’s Power government that they were able to sign an agreement after the discussions.
However, we decided to fact-check her statement and found it to be misleading.
Fact Check :
Sinopec (China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation) is one of the world’s largest energy companies based in Beijing, China. It operates in many countries worldwide under its parent company, which is based in China. It engages in the exploration, refining, distribution, and sale of oil, gas, and petrochemical products. Sinopec plays a significant role in global energy markets, with tens of thousands of filling stations and operations across many countries.
However, we checked whether the Sri Lankan government had previously entered into investment agreements with this company.
Agreements between Sinopec and Sri Lanka
Fuel Supply Agreement – May 22, 2023
On May 23 2023, the then Ministry of Power and Energy of Sri Lanka signed an agreement with the mother company of Sinopec, as an essential step to ensure a continuous fuel supply in a manner that would not cause any inconvenience to the consumers in the face of the foreign exchange crisis prevailing in Sri Lanka at that time.
The then Secretary to the Ministry of Power and Energy, M.P.D.U.K. Mapa Pathirana, and the Managing Director of the Fuel Production and Marketing Department of Sinopec, Chen Chengmin, signed this agreement at the Presidential Secretariat in the presence of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
This was attended by a delegation of then former Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekara, State Ministers D.V. Chanka, Indika Anuruddha, Shehan Semasinghe, Senior Advisor to the President on National Security and Chief of Presidential Staff Sagala Rathnayake, Secretary to the President Saman Ekanayake, Senior Advisor to the President on Economic Affairs Dr. R.H.S. Samarathunga, Governor of the Central Bank Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Chinese Ambassador Qi Zhenhing and the then Chairman of Sinopec, Fan Liping, the director of the International Cooperation Department. You can view the statement issued by the Presidential Media Division regarding this here. Archived Link
Accordingly, Sinopec had commenced operations in Sri Lanka through its subsidiary, Sinopec Fuel Oil Lanka (Private) Limited.
Sinopec Fuel Distribution Agreement- July 14, 2023
The Board of Investment (BOI) of Sri Lanka had agreed with China’s Sinopec Company for the establishment, operation and distribution of fuel filling stations in Sri Lanka. The agreement permitted the project to be implemented for 20 years under the supervision of Sinopec Energy Lanka, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sinopec, as per Section 17 of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka Act.
This memorandum of understanding allowed Sinopec Energy to distribute, store, and establish fuel stations in Sri Lanka. Sinopec is investing US$100 million in this project, and the company aims to establish 50 new fuel stations in Sri Lanka and operate a network connecting 150 existing fuel stations.
Hambantota New Petroleum Refinery
The then-former Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Kanchana Wijesekara, issued a message through his X account stating that the cabinet approval was granted to award the contract to China’s SINOPEC for the establishment of a new petroleum refinery and associated product processing centre in Hambanthota on November 27, 2023.
International media reports, such as those from Reuters, also indicate that Sinopec had planned to invest $4.5 billion in the construction of a fuel refinery to be built in Hambantota.
A meeting was held in March 2024 with officials from Sinopec Overseas Investment Holding Pvt Ltd (SOIHL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Sinopec Corp, in Hong Kong, and officials from the Ministry of Power and Energy. Releasing an X message in March last year, they mentioned that the SOIHL officials had been briefed on the progress of the discussions with stakeholders for the construction of the proposed new refinery in Hambanthota and that they expected to sign the agreement for this project in June 2024.
However, with the change in political leadership that occurred last year, talks regarding the construction of the new oil refinery in Hambantota came to a halt. After the National People’s Power government was formed, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake embarked on a four-day state visit to China in January this year (2025). During this visit, President Anura Kumara and Chinese President Xi Jinping held bilateral talks and signed several memoranda of understanding.
This project is the most significant Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) project in Sri Lanka to date, valued at US$3.7 billion. The Presidential Media Division had stated that this included the construction of a state-of-the-art refinery in Hambantota with a capacity of 200,000 barrels per day by Sinopec.
For this purpose, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath signed the agreement on behalf of Sri Lanka, and a senior official of Sinopec signed on behalf of the company.
An article published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding this is here. Archived Link.
For the first time, Sinopec joined with Sri Lanka for a project back in 2019
In March 2019, Sinopec Fuel Oil Marketing Company was awarded a tender by the Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG) for oil trading, as well as the operation and maintenance of their oil tanker terminal and other associated facilities.
To conduct the above-mentioned businesses, Sinopec Fuel Oil Lanka (Private) Company Limited (SFOL) was established in 2019, and the company was registered under the Board of Investment as a Hambantota-based central company.
However, Sinopec had not entered into an agreement with the Sri Lankan government.
Sinopec first entered into an agreement with the Sri Lankan government, with the Ministry of Power and Energy (MOPE) of Sri Lanka. As mentioned in the article, it was a “Long tern contract for inportation, storage, distribution, and sale of petroleum products in Sri Lanka”.
Accordingly, the implementation timeline for the agreements between Sinopec and Sri Lanka is as follows.
| Date | Type of Agreement | Partners | Condition |
| 2019 | Maritime Operations | BOI ↔ SFOL | Active |
| May 2023 | Fuel supply contract $100 million | governmentt ↔ Sinopec Corp | Active |
| June 2023 | SEL Incorporation | – | – |
| July 2023 | Fuel delivery | BOI ↔ SEL | Active |
| August 2023 | Launch of the first fuel station | – | Operational |
| November 2023 March 2024 | Refinery approval Discussions between stakeholders | Cabinet Ministry of Energy↔SOIHL | Approved Negotiations |
| January 2025 | $3.7 billion refinery deal | Government ↔ Sinopec Corp | Under Negotiation |
- BOI- Board of Investment
- Sinopec Corp – Sinopec Corporation
- Sinopec Fuel Oil Lanka (Private) Limited (SFOL)
- Sinopec Corp – Sinopec Corporation
- Sinopec Energy Lanka (Private) Limited (SEL)
- Sinopec Overseas Investment Holding Pvt Ltd (SOIHL)
Accordingly, the agreements between Sinopec Corporation, located in Beijing, China and Sri Lanka were only signed in May 2023, when Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe was the President and in January 2025, when Mr. Anura Kumara Dissanayaka was the President. Other contracts and services took place between subsidiaries of Sinopec Corporation.
However, in the 2023 contract, only an investment of $100 million was made. In the agreement signed under the NPP government, Sinopec was awarded a contract worth $3.7 billion for the establishment of a new petroleum refinery and associated product processing centre in Hambantota.
Accordingly, the statement made by the NPP parliamentarian Lakmali Hemachandra, that the agreements with the Sinopec were signed for the first time under their government, is misleading.
However, as she points out, the signing of the agreement for the Hambanthota refinery, the largest single foreign direct investment (FDI) in the history of the country with Sinopec, took place under the National People’s Power Government. Before this project, the largest foreign direct investment in the country was in infrastructure investments such as the Colombo Port City, which amounted to around US$1.3–1.4 billion.
However, it is important to note that the Cabinet approval for the agreement with Sinpoec’s largest investment in Sri Lanka was received only during the previous government.
MP Lakmali Hemachandra
To inquire about this, we contacted MP Lakmini Hemachandra. She mentioned that her statement was regarding the construction of the Hambanthota Oil refinery, the largest investment in the country.
However, the statement she made at the ‘Wadapitiya’ program on Derana Channel, that the first agreement between Sinopec and Sri Lanka was made under the National People’s Power government, is misleading.
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Title:Clarification on Misleading Claim of Sinopec Agreements with Sri Lanka!
Fact Check By: Fact Crescendo TeamResult: Misleading
