267 billion USD worth of oil & gas resources hidden in Mannar Basin - Minister Uthaya Gammonpilla

Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila stated that the USD 267 billion worth of oil and gas resources hidden in the Mannar Basin could generate three times the total debt of the country. The Minister stated the aforesaid at the Consultative Committee on Energy held in Parliament yesterday.

Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila said that the Norochcholai power plant could operate for 120 years only from the gas in the Mannar Basin and the Sapugaskanda oil refinery could operate for 143 years with the oil alone.

Although our neighboring country India has been extracting oil and gas from the seas close to Sri Lanka since the 1940s, Sri Lanka has missed it due to various reasons. After lengthy discussions with experts on the subject, it was identified that there were several reasons have contributed for the aforesaid, the further Minister said.

The Minister said large companies around the world have not come to explore oil resources in Sri Lanka in the recent past due to various reasons.He also stated that he intends to seek the assistance of Sri Lankan experts in the field from around the world in this regard.