US embassy cable - 04COLOMBO1488

UNCLAS COLOMBO 001488 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USDOC 6110 TD/BI/OFFICE OF ENERGY, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND 
MACHINERY 
 
E.O 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EPET, BEXP, CE, ECONOMICS 
SUBJECT:  IMI Sri Lanka Oil Exploration Opportunities 
 
1.  Summary:  The Government of Sri Lanka is planning to 
open offshore areas off the western coast of Sri Lanka 
for oil exploration in the first quarter of 2005. 
Private companies will be awarded exploration licenses 
for 8-9 plots through a competitive bidding process. 
End Summary. 
 
2.  Exploration drilling in the shallow waters north of 
Sri Lanka, performed in the early '80s, showed potential 
for hydrocarbons.  More recently, in 2001, the 
Australian subsidiary of a Norwegian firm, TGS Nopec, 
carried out a preliminary seismic survey in the same 
area, which also showed good potential.  The company 
will undertake a comprehensive seismic survey on a non- 
exclusive basis in December 2004.  Data from these 
studies will be made available to interested oil 
companies for a fee. 
 
3.  To facilitate oil exploration, the Government has 
recently enacted a Petroleum Resources Act.  The 
Government is expected to finalize petroleum operation 
regulations under the new Act soon.  Model production 
sharing contracts are already available for public 
scrutiny from the Ministry of Power and Energy. 
 
4.  The government is planning to open offshore areas 
off the western coast of Sri Lanka for oil exploration. 
Private companies will be awarded exploration licenses 
for 8-9 plots through a competitive bidding process. 
The Government plans to announce a licensing round in 
the first quarter of 2005.  It has already held road 
shows in Texas and London to promote oil exploration. 
These opportunities will be promoted again at the 
International Exposition and Seventy Fourth Annual 
Meeting of the Society for Exploration Geophysicists 
(SEG) http://meeting.seg.org/ in Denver, Colorado in 
October 2004. 
 
5.  US companies can contact the following GSL agency 
for information regarding oil exploration opportunities: 
Ministry of Power and Energy 
80 Flower Road 
Colombo 7 
Sri Lanka. 
Phone: 94-11- 2564-476   Fax: 94-11-2564-354 
Email: energy@sri.lanka.net 
Contact person: Mr. Titus Jayawardena 
Director General, Petroleum Resources. 
 
ENTWISTLE