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| An off shore oil and gas drilling site |
Six
ultra-deep water blocks of area between approximately 18,000 and 26,000 square
kilometers each around the country's coastline are available to be awarded
outside the current bid round, said Sri Lanka's Petroleum Resources Development
Secretariat (PRDS). Proposals from Suitably experienced oil companies are invited for oil and gas exploration,
These
awards will be based on the experience and capability of the applicant along
with their proposed work commitment, the PRDS exposed. The basic framework for
the agreement is a 2 year period of exclusivity for data acquisition,
processing and interpretation, followed by a further 1 year for discussions
with the PRDC on potential next steps. The PRDS will hold a pre-bid clarification
meeting in Colombo on August 29 to discuss the format for submission of bids,
data purchase requirements, and availability of new data among others.
Sri
Lanka has extended the deadline for bids until November 29 on 13 offshore
blocks in the Cauvery and Mannar basins.PRDS held a Exploration and Production
(E&P) symposium titled 'Sri Lanka Upstream 2013' in July and the
representatives of top oil exploring firms like ONGC, Cairn, Total, Exxon
Mobil, ENI, Shell, Schlumberger, Halliburton, CGG participated in it. Meanwhile
the Director General of PRDS Saliya Wickramasuriya said the government is
waiting for the early commercialization of the first discovery of Cairn Lanka,
the Sri Lankan subsidiary of Indian oil explorer Cairn India.
According
to the Director General Cairn Lanka, the only oil and gas explorer currently
active in Sri Lanka is now refining their appraisal plan for the for the first
two discoveries. Cairn Lanka, which made gas discoveries in two of the four
exploration wells it drilled, has scheduled more wells in the Mannar Basin for
the end of this year and the beginning of 2014. The Company said it continues
to consider appraisal options for the gas discoveries made and evaluate
Monetization of the existing discoveries under various development and
commercial scenarios and plans to continue into exploration phase-III. Cairn
Lanka said discussions with the Sri Lankan government regarding commercial
terms and gas pricing are progressing.
