30 July 2010 02:43 pm
Cairn Sri Lanka (Pvt) Ltd a subsidiary of Cairn India (Pvt. Ltd) will begin drilling the first three oil wells in the Mannar Basin in January, the Petroleum Ministry said today.
Petroleum Resources Minister Susil Premajayantha said Cairn Sri Lanka was calling for bidders globally to undertake sub contracts for the eight-year three-stage oil exploration project, which is estimated to cost of US$172 million or Rs.18 billion.
The Minister said Cairn (
Minister Premajayantha said the Petroleum Resources Development Committee (PRDC) on behalf of
“The government has been successful in its tender procedure whereas the Indian company has consented to go for oil exploration in block SL 2007-01-001 in the
The agreement that runs for eight years has been planned in such a way that
“In the first part of the bidding in 2007,
He said five blocks in the Mannar Basin -- M1, M2, M3, M4 and M5 situated off the North West coast have been lined up for this year’s international tenders.
“The decision on conducting an international road show will be taken at the next ‘Petroleum Resources Development Committee’ meeting.
Sri Lanka has identified and demarcated 12 blocks -- three in the Cauvery Basin (off North East coasts of Sri Lanka), eight in the Mannar Basin (off Western and North Western Coasts) and one in the Southern Basin (off Hambanthota) for oil exploration and will call for international tenders for all blocks except M2.