Total to Explore for Oil, Gas Offshore Sri Lanka's East Coast
Sri Lanka will give France’s Total the rights to explore for oil and gas offshore east coast, local newspaper The Sunday Times reported Sunday.
Country’s cabinet has decided that the French firm will get exclusive rights for scanning, data collection and mapping in the seas off the eastern coast, Power and Energy Ministry Secretary B.M.S. Batagoda said.
He said this would be the first time that gas and oil exploration would take place in the eastern seas.
For exploration in Mannar basin, bids have been received from Total, Shell and ExxonMobil, The Sunday Times reported. Earlier this year Cairn India decided to pull out of Mannar basin and not go ahead with further exploration.
In July 2008, the government of Sri Lanka and Cairn India signed an agreement for exploration licence permitting Cairn India to explore oil and natural gas in Mannar basin. The Block SL 2007-01-001, which is in offshore North West Sri Lanka and covers approximately 3,000 Km2 in water depths of 200 to 1,800m, was awarded to Cairn India through a bid round held in 2008.Cairn Lanka is the operator with 100 percent participating interest. The contract will expire in October.
Cairn found gas in three out of four exploration wells.