Govt nod to call for bids in Mannar, Cauvery basins for oil exploration

Aug 01, 2018 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's cabinet of ministers has given the go ahead to call for bid from international companies to explore oil and gas deposits in the north-western Mannar and Cauvery basins, a statement said. Experts have revealed that initial studies on offshore exploration, development and production activities in the two basins have revealed potential for oil and natural gas, it added. The proposal was put forward by Arjuna Ranatunga, Minister of Petroleum Resources Development. Meanwhile, the island’s Petroleum Resources Development Secretariat, the national regulatory authority administering petroleum upstream operations, had said the third bid round will be in the first quarter of 2018. The government aims to award a number of blocks in both the Mannar and Cauvery basins, which have drawn investor interest as prospective blocks, the PRDS said.