Preparations are underway to accelerate the exploration of oil and natural gas in the Mannar Basin located in the western sea area of Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka Petroleum Development Authority has officially started the process of international auction for four major deep sea fields named 'SL2026-01'.
This area of the deep sea is spread over about 33,964 square kilometers. The main objective of this auction is to bring international investment here. However, the Sri Lankan government is currently not doing any new deep sea drilling with its own money.
Instead, 2D and 3D seismic data collected in different phases between 1967 and 2019 have been re-studied.
Along with this, data collected from wells by Cairn Company in 2011 was also used.
With the help of modern artificial intelligence and advanced software, this old data was re-examined. On this basis, a map has been prepared by identifying four major areas where hydrocarbons are likely to be found.
There are estimated to be about two billion barrels of crude oil and nine trillion cubic feet of natural gas in this area.
These areas are at depths ranging from 100 meters to 3,000 meters in the sea.
The Sri Lankan government plans to organize conferences for investors in London and Kuala Lumpur. Through this, the government wants to bring investment worth millions of dollars from international oil companies.
These resources present in the sea have emerged as a new hope for Sri Lanka which is facing economic crisis.
Professor Atul Senaratne, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Peradeniya and renowned geologist, told BBC Tamil, "Only 10 to 15 percent of the wells drilled for oil and gas exploration around the world are successful."
"But four test wells were drilled in Sri Lanka's Mannar Basin. Good quality natural gas was found in two of these. Accordingly, the success rate here was 50 percent."
He said, "Drilling done in the 1960s and 1970s could reach a depth of only 700 meters. But now it has been confirmed that at a depth of three thousand meters or three kilometers, very good quality gas is present between the layers of rocks that are billions of years old."
"It can not only provide a domestic solution to the country's energy crisis, but can also become a huge opportunity to improve the economy."
Exploration of oil and natural gas in Sri Lanka's Gulf of Mannar started in the 1960s. 'Cairn Lanka' was the first company to discover and confirm the presence of natural gas by deep sea drilling.
Cairn started drilling deep-sea test wells in the Mannar Basin in August 2011. The company had officially informed that natural gas has been found at a depth of about 4,300 meters i.e. 14 thousand feet from the sea surface.
After this discovery, tests were conducted in wells named 'Dorado' and 'Barracuda'. In these tests, flow of 28 lakh cubic feet of natural gas was recorded every day.
However, the quantity of gas found there at that time was limited. It was estimated that extracting that gas and selling it in the market would not be profitable. After investing about $150 million, Cairn gave up its license in 2015 and moved out of Sri Lanka.
In 2017, geologist Ratnayake and his team published an international research report on the Mannar Basin. In this, it was scientifically confirmed that the layers of these rocks have reached the level of 'thermal maturity' required for the formation of hydrocarbons and crude oil.
Former Sri Lankan Energy Minister Champika Ranawaka told BBC Tamil that after Cairn's departure, auctions and invitations were issued to attract international companies. But no international company showed interest in investing in Sri Lanka.
Former power infrastructure and energy minister Udaya Gammanpila told BBC Tamil, "Gas has already been confirmed in the Mannar Basin. But billions of dollars will have to be invested to extract it from beneath the seabed and create infrastructure that can be used to generate power or in factories."
Cabinet spokesperson and minister Nalinda Jayatissa, speaking to BBC Tamil on the government's side, said, "Our government is paying serious attention to this issue. Under the first phase, we have announced the process of international auction in collaboration with Ceylon Petroleum Corporation and Sri Lanka Petroleum Development Authority."
The minister said, "We have stressed that the search work should be done very carefully. It should be ensured that there is no damage to the natural environment of the area. In particular, there should be no impact on the fishing community of the Mannar region."
Experts say that the auction of deep sea areas by Sri Lanka is not just an economic activity. It is also closely linked to the ongoing geopolitical competition between major powers in the Indian Ocean.
Rear Admiral Jayaratne says that India will pay serious attention to the security of its southern border and stopping the military presence of other countries in the region. He said that India will keep an eye on this entire matter.
Sri Lankan marine biologist Dr Asha De Vos said, "Changing weather due to climate change is already affecting the marine area of Mannar. In such a situation, deep sea drilling activities can cause a huge disaster."
"We are confident that with the help of data from past studies and modern technology, we will be able to attract international investors," said Neil de Silva, Director General of the Sri Lanka Petroleum Development Authority.
