Sri Lanka to offer oil exploration tenders

Sri Lanka is likely to begin offering tenders for oil exploration in the near future, with the initial batch being in five blocks, the country's petroleum minister has announced.

It comes after oil industry firm Cairn India Ltd discovered gas deposits in the north-western offshore Mannar Basin, leading to speculation about when a commercial production schedule would be laid out.

Susil Premajayantha told Reuters that the tenders will be offered "in a couple of months", adding that the country is likely to take between 18 and 24 months to reach commercial production of natural gas in the Mannar Basin offshore.

Sri Lanka produces no oil of its own, though the government has revealed that seismic data shows the potential for over one billion barrels of oil under the sea in a 30,000 sq km area of the Mannar Basin.

In July, Cairn India revealed that it could take up to two years to determine how much oil or gas could be in the area, with a minimum of six years needed until the start of commercial oil production, if it is found.