by.S. Ananda WEDAARACHCHI
The drilling of the second oil well which commenced in the first week this month in Block No. 2, Mannar Basin is in progress, a Petroleum Industries Ministry spokesman said.
He said that the report on the discovery of natural gas in the first oil well of the same block will be released by CAIRN Lanka Ltd shortly.
The report is due to be presented to the government within five months according to the agreement signed by the government with CAIRN Lanka Ltd, he said.
This report will disclose the commercial viability of the natural gas deposit, he said.
The third well will also be drilled by CAIRN Lanka Ltd before April 2012, he said. The discovery of gas has attracted top international bidders. Russia's Gazprom and Vietnam's Petrovietnam are due to join Sri Lanka's oil and gas exploration work.
The government held discussions with the Russian and Vietnamese governments recently in this connection.
http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2011/10/23/new10.asp
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Mannar basin oil exploration to be widened
By Wijitha Nakkawita
Oil exploration in the Mannar basin has given rise to new hopes consequent to the exploration firm Cairn Lanka finding gas in this location as announced by President Mahinda Rajapaksa earlier in the month. Other companies in the trade including a Vietnamese company that had studied the seismic three dimensional data of the region have evinced interest in oil exploration.
The government of Sri Lanka and Vietnam inked a number of agreements including one for oil/gas exploration after the visit of Vietnamese president Truong San Khanh last week. The agreement on oil exploration and supply of diesel was signed between Sri Lanka and the state owned Vietnam National Oil and Gas group. Another agreement was signed by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation with Petro Vietnam Company engaged in sale of diesel with a branch at Singapore handling oil sales was also signed.
According to wire news services reports the Vietnamese company has requested the government of Sri Lanka not to call for oil exploration tenders for the other blocks in the basin than the one that is already contracted with Cairn Lanka, with its mother company in India.
During the visit of the Vietnamese President the experts on oil exploration from his country who had accompanied him had held talks with the local petroleum officials as well as with the officials of the Presidential Secretariat branch dealing with oil exploration as well as import of oil for local consumption, sources said.
During the visit of the Vietnamese President the experts on oil exploration from his country who had accompanied him had held talks with the local petroleum officials as well as with the officials of the Presidential Secretariat branch dealing with oil exploration as well as import of oil for local consumption, sources said.
Vietnamese officials visited Sri Lanka two years back when they held talks with government officials regarding investment promotion, economic cooperation. At that stage they also indicted their interest in oil and gas exploration but during the recent visit of the Vietnamese President the two countries had agreed to widen economic and trade cooperation, senior officials said.
Vietnam is a more recent entrant to oil and gas production and last year it produced 34 million metric tons of crude oil and in the current year the production target was 35 – 40 million metric tons of crude oil. According to international oil exploration reports the country has oil and gas reserves that could last for the next 30 years.
http://www.nation.lk/2011/10/23/news1.htm
http://www.nation.lk/2011/10/23/news1.htm
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