Oil agreement to Parliament today

Uditha Kumarasinghe, Irangika Range and Sandasen Marasinghe

KOTTE: Petroleum and Petroleum Resources Development Minister A.H.M. Fowzie stated yesterday that he would submit the agreement entered into with an Indian Company and the Government to Parliament today.

He made this observation when JVP Parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated that Minister Fowzie did not postponed entering into the agreement although they requested to postpone it for two weeks. Dissanayake was raising a point of order in Parliament yesterday.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake also said that they requested to appoint a committee consisting of all party members but it was not appointed.

Minister Fowzie stated that MP Dissanayake did not make the notice in time to postpone it so that he had to enter into the agreement as all the arrangements were already made.

He also said that he requested the party leaders to nominate members to the committee but they were failed to do so and that was the reason not to appoint a committee. The Minister said according to the agreement one block of Mannar Basin was to be explored yet there were another seven blocks in the Mannar Basin.

Minister Fowzie asserted that there were no flaws in the agreement and it would be submitted to Parliament today.