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| Wednesday, 9 July 2003 |
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by Rashomi Silva Taking a pivotal step towards oil exploration in Sri Lanka the Petroleum Resources Development Bill, which will enable investing in oil exploration in Sri Lanka, will be taken up for debate in Parliament today by the Power and Energy Minister Karu Jayasuriya. The move follows positive results of a study carried out by a reputed oil exploration firm in Australia, the T.S.G. Norpack. The T.S.G. Norpack had conducted an extensive survey in the Gulf of Mannar for possible signs of oil and the results have proved to be very encouraging, an official for the (CPC) Ceylon Petroleum Corporation said. "According to T.S.G. Norpack, the survey has yielded positive results and the geo-physical structure of the Gulf of Mannar is encouraging. They are waiting till the Bill is passed in Parliament to carry out detailed studies here," the official added. The Asian Development Bank had provided an aid package of USD 325,000 for New South Global Ltd, another major Australian firm for an initial exploration survey in North-West and North-East, the official added. It is also believed that there is a large oil deposit in the waters in the Sri Lankan coastal region lying in the Cauvey Basin, the official explained. This underwater basin extends upto the Arabian sea. The waters belonging to the Indian region have already been exploited. He added that the 'prospects' of finding oil in Sri Lankan waters and in offshore areas have increased significantly since the first studies conducted in the late 60s, "This is solely because we have used advanced technologies in the recent studies. The survey conducted in 2001 using the 'scimic' method is very encouraging", he explained. Meanwhile, Speaker Joseph Michael Perera yesterday announced that the provisions of Clauses 3, 4 (1) and 6 (b) of the Bill are inconsistent with Article 12 (1) of the Constitution and are required to be passed by the special majority stated in Article 84 (2) of the Constitution,. The Supreme Court has further held that the said inconsistency would cease if the relevant clauses are suitably amended to delete the references in the provisions to the "private sector" and "private investors". The Supreme Court has also recommended the deletion of the Clause 17 even though it did not involve an issue of constitutionality. |
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