Sri Lankan to sign agreement with Norway’s Equinor to survey offshore oil and gas deposits
The government of Sri Lanka was to sign an agreement Tuesday (27) with Norwegian energy firm Equinor to survey the offshore blocks JS5 and JS6 in the Lanka basin for oil and gas deposits.
“Next week we are going to sign another agreement,” Petroleum Resource Development Secretariat (PRDS) Director General Vajira Dassanayake has been quoted as saying.
“Currently, we have a joint study agreement with Total and the government of Sri Lanka,” he has said.
“JS 5 and JS 6 blocks are large when compared to other blocks, and that is why we are partnering with Equinor,” he has said.
“They will be a part of a consortium led by Total. Equinor will have a 30 percent participating interest,” Dassanayake has also said that it will not be a tripartite agreement.
Total will sign as the project leader, and a deed certificate is to be issued to Equinor by the Sri Lankan government.
The two blocks off Sri Lanka’s east and north east are in deep-water, making oil discovery costly.
Dassanayake said that the risks will be divided between the two companies.
“There will be more budgets every year. Maybe next year, they can shoot 3D seismic data and drill some wells. Our exploration activities in these two blocks will be expedited,” he has said.
“These two companies have the best technology when dealing with ultra-deep water.”
Sri Lanka has discovered gas deposits in the Mannar basin off the country’s north western coast.
OSL take:
Exploration of oil and natural gas in the seas off Sri Lanka is an emerging business/investment opportunity in Sri Lanka. Foreign businesses engaged in the oil business could explore business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s oil exploration sector.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/29082019/Z_4 |