Sri Lanka to award 4 contracts for Mannar basin oil exploration after Feb 2: President
Photo: EconomyNextAI summary · 1 min read
1 min readFrom 1 outlets- EconomyNext reports that the planned awards concern four offshore blocks in the Northwestern Mannar Basin.
- President Anura Kumara Dissanayake announced the plan during his budget speech in Parliament.
- EconomyNext says the earlier effort ended after production was found not commercially viable.
- Sri Lanka’s offshore exploration efforts began in the late 1960s, according to EconomyNext.
EconomyNext reports that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said Sri Lanka plans to award four oil and gas exploration contracts after February 2, 2027. He made the announcement in his budget speech to Parliament on Thursday, November 12, 2026.
EconomyNext says the government has offered four offshore blocks in the Northwestern Mannar Basin to international investors. Dissanayake said companies had submitted bids and described them as very good, according to EconomyNext.
EconomyNext reports that the latest effort follows an earlier attempt to attract investment in the sector, which ended after production was found not commercially viable. The Mannar Basin lies between southern India and northwestern Sri Lanka.
EconomyNext cites a former Sri Lankan energy minister’s 2021 statement to Parliament that the basin may contain oil and gas resources valued at around $260 billion. The outlet says Sri Lanka’s offshore exploration efforts began in the late 1960s, initially focusing on shallow waters in the Gulf of Mannar and the Cauvery Basin.
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