Cairn India pulling out of oil, gas explorations in Sri Lanka
Posted on April 20th, 2015
Courtesy Adederana
Since Cairn India is reportedly to pull out of its offshore fuel and natural gas explorations within the Mannar Basin in Sri Lankan waters, it has been revealed that the government has been compelled to look for new entities to continue drilling these deposits.
According to reports, with increasing pressure on Cairn India due to the fall of fuel prices in the world market, it has decided that the offshore fuel exploration in the Mannar Basin of Sri Lanka is not a priority.
The company has instead decided to further strengthen its oil production from its fields in Rajasthan in India.
According to reports, the Sri Lankan government has not abandoned its efforts of commercially exploiting the natural gas deposits discovered by Cairn India within the Mannar Basin, it has begun negotiations to attract other entities for this process.
It is still not clear how Cairn India is to recover it investments already made for these fuel explorations.
Cairn Lanka, which is a subsidiary of Cairn India has reportedly not renewed its fuel storage facilities it has obtained from the Colombo port and this confirms that it is to pull out of fuel and natural gas explorations in Sri Lanka.
On 05 March Cairn India announced that it was taking steps to cut its costs since fuel prices were falling rapidly in the world market.
It has been further revealed that Cairn India is to pull out of fuel and natural gas explorations in Sri Lanka from next October.
When Cairn India began fuel and natural gas explorations in Sri Lanka, it was owned by Cairn Energy PLC of Scotland and later acquired by Vedanta Resources of India in 2010. Hence, Cairn India is currently a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources.
In July 2008 Sri Lanka entered into an agreement with Cairn India for fuel and natural gas exploration in one block of the Mannar Basin.
The extent of this block is 3,400 square kilometres, the government had allowed Cairn India to drill to a depth of between 200 to 1,800 metres.
A Norwegian company, TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company discovered fuel deposits off the coasts of Mannar and following this the Sri Lankan government divided this area into eight blocks.
Petroleum Resources Development Secretariat (PRDS) responsible for fuel explorations in Sri Lanka and which was under the purview of the President during the tenure of the former government has been brought under the Ministry of Power and Energy by the new government.
Hence, Sri Lanka’s the responsibilities of Sri Lanka’s fuel and gas explorations have now come under Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka.
April 20th, 2015 at 2:43 pm
It is still not clear how Cairn India is to recover it investments already made for these fuel explorations.
Good question!! I will not be surprised if Indians start oil and gas exploration from Indian side of the Mannar Basin. Now they have got all the data necessary including 3D seismic survey reports pinpointing where possible oil and gas deposits are. What they have to do now is simple directional drilling to tap our reserves.
When we have fools in the Ministerial positions, what else we can expect.
I was personally against India getting involved in oil exploration work in Sri Lanka.
April 20th, 2015 at 5:36 pm
Aiyo Champaka!
What will happen to your promise??
Its pity.. it seems what ever you touched becomes ash!!
April 20th, 2015 at 6:48 pm
Namaste: Champika is writing a book “Thel hoyanna mola hareema’. (Drilling brains to find oil” which he has done extremely well with drilling the brains of Sinhala Buddhists to find votes with his Indian funded JHU. Jai Hind
April 21st, 2015 at 4:05 am
India getting involved in oil exploration work in Sri Lanka-
Remember Modi said while he was in Thalai Mannar he can see Ramesvaram from here !!!
Modayas do you know what this means ????
also He ask We-Tamila leaders do you trust us ? as All every one know We-Tamils may trust you modayas but never trust indian or Sonis in our generation !!! now you know why We kicked IPKF out even they offered NEP in gold plate .
You know why we are crowling slowly since 19th may 2009 !!! We-Tamil know When to get Our Thalai Mannar (TE) back(kick you out) from Indian & You.
April 21st, 2015 at 7:45 am
Indian involvement in any oil exploration means Tamil Nadu involvement in what goes on ! Do Lankans what that ? Relations with Tamil Nadu are bad enough as it is, in matters of the economy and expansion ideas from TN. TN expansion ideas which was to take over South Indian states as a separate country ran into snags with PM Nehru’s anti-Separatist Law in India. Since then TN has been eyeing Lanka. Should never let that happen. Fancy bowing to Jaya etc ! Bad enough with our own Failed Trio.
April 21st, 2015 at 11:25 pm
Looks like some mega mistake . India should have been given a contract as they are neighbours and like Neela says they can drill from their side with impunity.
Is someone going to get the blame for this foolish error???
Who was the leader of our country when the contract was given? Who was running the civil service?
April 22nd, 2015 at 7:54 am
read as “Do Lankans want that ?”