Sri Lanka plans to award four contracts to explore for oil and gas in the Northwestern Mannar Basin soon after bidding closes on 2 February 2027, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said in his budget speech on Thursday.
“It was reported that very good companies have bid,” the President told Parliament, EconomyNext reported.
Four offshore blocks in the Northwestern Mannar Basin have been offered to international investors. It is a fresh attempt to attract exploration investment after an earlier round ended without commercially viable production.
Background
The Mannar Basin lies between southern India and north-western Sri Lanka. A former energy minister told Parliament in 2021 that it may hold around US$260 billion worth of oil and gas resources — a figure that reflects an in-place resource estimate made five years ago, not a commercial reserve, and which no drilling has since confirmed.
Sri Lanka’s offshore exploration effort dates to the late 1960s, when work focused on shallow offshore areas in the Gulf of Mannar and the Cauvery Basin. Earlier rounds found gas but not at volumes judged commercial to develop.
Sourcing note
EconomyNext was the only verified newsroom to have filed on this section of the speech at the time of writing. The US$260 billion figure is reproduced here as the 2021 parliamentary statement EconomyNext attributes it to, with its age stated, and should not be read as a current valuation.
Not reported
The filing does not name the companies that bid, say how many bids were received for each block, give the award timetable beyond “soon after” the February deadline, or state the terms on offer.