Friday Sep 18, 2026
Friday Sep 18, 2026
Friday, 18 September 2026 00:21 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Energy Affairs has approved the order governing the calling of investment proposals for the exploration and development of petroleum resources in Sri Lanka, opening the exploration round to the world on 25 August.
The approval was granted at a meeting of the Committee held at Parliament recently, chaired by Energy Minister Anura Karunathilaka.
The order was issued by the Energy Minister under Section 48 of the Petroleum Resources Act, No. 21 of 2021, read with Section 17 of the Act, and had been approved by the Cabinet of Ministers as part of its issuance. It was published in Extraordinary Gazette No. 2497/37 dated 16 July 2026.
Under the order, any party seeking to explore or develop petroleum resources in one or more identified blocks must submit an investment proposal, along with the administrative fee specified in the relevant invitation for bids.
The round, designated Sri Lanka Licensing Round 2026 (SL2026-01), offers four offshore exploration blocks spanning nearly 34,000 square kilometres in the Mannar Basin.
Petroleum Development Authority of Sri Lanka (PDASL) Director General Dr. Neil De Silva said bids were expected to close in early 2027, followed by evaluation and the award of blocks through Petroleum Resources Agreements, with commercial production targeted by 2032 if commercially viable resources are established.
An international investor campaign is running alongside the bidding process. Engagement begins in London at the World Energies Summit on 29 and 30 September, followed by a virtual investor briefing on 21 October and investor engagement in Kuala Lumpur at the Asia Petroleum Geoscience Conference and Exhibition on 16 and 17 November.
Sri Lanka already has two gas discoveries in the Mannar Basin, Dorado, and Barracuda, both made in 2011, with a combined P50 resource estimate of 839 billion cubic feet. P50 denotes the most-likely estimate, meaning there is a 50% probability the actual resource will equal or exceed that volume.
