Sri Lankan government gearing to call for fresh bids for offshore oil and gas exploration in May
Minister of Petroleum Resources Development of Sri Lanka Arjuna Ranatunga has reportedly said that the government will call for fresh bids for offshore oil and gas exploration in May.
Ranatunga has told the media that the government is making final preparations for the call for bids with Cabinet approval expected shortly.
Fresh bids are likely to be called in the first week of May, the Minister has added.
According to Economynext, the island’s Petroleum Resources Development Secretariat (PRDS), the national regulatory authority administering petroleum upstream operations, had said the third bid round will be in the first quarter of 2018.
It will concentrate on both exploration and development of existing discoveries such as the gas discovery in the Mannar Basin by Cairn India.
According to the PRDS, the government aims to award a number of blocks in both the Mannar and Cauvery basins, which have drawn investor interest as prospective blocks.
OSL take:
The statement by the country’s Petroleum resources Development Minister of the move to call for fresh bids in May this year for offshore oil exploration would undoubtedly be an opportunity up for grabs for many foreign businesses/investors interested in entering the lucrative oil and gas market.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20180328/Z_3 |