Sri Lanka Signs Agreement with Total, Equinor
The Sri Lankan government has entered into an agreement with French Total and Norwegian Equinor as a joint study partner to explore the hydrocarbon potential in two offshore oil and gas blocks, the country’s ministry of petroleum resources development said August 29.
The two blocks, JS -5 and JS-6, are in the Lanka Basin in the eastern offshore region of Sri Lanka, the ministry said.
Earlier this year, the ministry called bids for exploration block M2 in Mannar basin off northwest coast. According to a Reuters report published August 27, the government has received three bids for the exploration and development of the block. Vajira Dissanayake, a government official in the petroleum ministry, said the block is expected to be awarded by November.
The M2 block covers an area of 3,500 km2 and has two gas discoveries, Dorado 91 H/1z and Barracuda 1G/1, and a number of undrilled prospects. In 2013, Cairn India, part of Vedanta Resources, made the two discoveries in the Dorado and Barracuda wells. However, the company quit operations in Sri Lanka in 2015 owing to the sharp fall in energy prices.