Sri Lanka receives bids from UK, UAE, Malaysia and Indonesia to develop off-shore block to explore gas deposits
Sri Lanka’s Petroleum Development Secretariat has reportedly stated that the country has so far received bids from a consortium of medium sized oil companies in the UK, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and South East Asia to develop an off-shore block where gas deposits had already been found.
Director General of Sri Lanka’s Petroleum Development Secretariat, Vajira Dassanayake has been quoted as saying in the local media that the companies from Malaysia and Indonesia were in the South East Asian consortium.
Media reports state that gas deposits were discovered in the M2 block off the North Western coast of Sri Lanka by Cairn India, but it had not developed the wells as gas prices had fallen.
Sri Lanka’s Highways and Petroleum Resources Development Minister Kabir Hashim has been quoted as saying that he expected the contract to be awarded this year and field development in 2022.
The government will then have to enter into a production sharing contract with the chosen bidder.
“We hope to be LNG (liquefied natural gas) producing country,” the Minister has said.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka has also expanded a joint-study programme with Total E & P to bring in Norway’s Equinor on two blocks JS5 and JS6 off the Eastern Coast of Sri Lanka on the Cauvery basin.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s oil and gas exploration sector is fast emerging as a business/investment opportunity of high standards. Foreign businesses engaged in the oil business could explore business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s oil and gas exploration sector.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/30082019/Z_4 |