Several countries eyeing to enter Sri Lanka to explore oil
Saliya Wickramasuriya new DG of PRDS speaks about the future of Oil exploration in SL
By: Prasanna C. Rodrigo
Sri Lanka says several countries including Russia, India, Ukraine and Vietnam have expressed their interest to enter oil exploration activities in the Gulf of Mannar basin.
Saliya wickramasuriya, the Head of the country’s Petroleum Resources Development Secretariat when inquired by news360.lk said “Yes, several countries have expressed interest in collaborating, including the Russian Federation, India, Ukraine and Vietnam”.
Apart from those countries, News360.lk learned from a reliable source that two Japanese oil exploration firms have also shown their interest towards exploring oil in the country.
Wickramasuriya says, that he expects a much stronger interest from global oil explorers towards exploring oil in the Mannar basin, as the recent discoveries made in the area confirms the existence of an active petroleum system in the region.
According to the new DG of the PRDS, plans are now underway to hold the next licensing round to find oil explorers for another 8 available blocks in the Gulf of Mannar basin.
Cairn Lanka recently discovered the existence of Natural gas in two wells in the Gulf of Mannar basin.
Following is the full interview conducted by News360.lk with the newly appointed Director General of the PRDS.
Q) Cairn has already discovered the existence of Natural Gas in two wells, what is next?
A) These finds have confirmed an active petroleum system in the Mannar Basin. This system now needs to be modeled further, to better understand the location, size and deliverability of the reservoirs in it. This will
require substantially more seismic and drilling activity.
Q) What about the new licensing round, when are you planning to go for it?
A) For an effective licensing round, we need to have clear objectives, detailed planning and good timing. We are currently working on all three.
Q.) With the latest discovery, what demand will the upcoming Licensing round have?
The Mannar Basin is one of the few unexplored basins in the region. The cessation of military activity in 2009 substantially reduced the perceived geopolitical risk, and now Cairn’s discoveries have greatly mitigated the
exploration risk. In light of the basin’s size and prospectively, we therefore expect much stronger interest than before.
Q) I heard there are lots of inquiries from oil exploration firms of Japan, India and also the western countries, can you elaborate on it?
A) Yes, several countries have expressed interest in collaborating, including the Russian Federation, India, Ukraine and Vietnam.
Q.) Where do you plan to hold the next road shows? Are you looking to have one in Beijing as well?
A) When we decide on the timing and objectives, we will determine the locations. At the moment it is too early to say.
Q) How many blocks do we exactly have, 7 or 8? Is this excluding the already given one to Cairn?
A) Our blocks boundaries have been modified periodically, and at the moment we have 9 blocks demarcated within the Mannar Basin, ranging in extent from around 3400 to over 7000 square km. excluding the block operated by
Cairn, this leaves 8.
Contact the editor: news360@sltnet.lk
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