FIRST-EVER AIRBORNE GRAVITY AND MAGNETIC SURVEY AGREEMENT SIGNED

An agreement between Sri Lankan Government and Bellgro Enterprises Limited for Oil and gas exploration in the Mannar and Kalpitiya basin was signed yesterday for Airborne gravity, Gravity gradiometry and magnetic data acquisition.

The agreement was signed between the Petroleum Resources Development

Minister Kabir Hashim and Bellgro Enterprises General Manager John Macfarlane at the Ministry.

Minister Kabir Hashim said this was the first-ever airborne gravity and magnetic survey that conducted while targeting oil and gas exploration while covering the whole area of the Mannar basin and several blocks of the Kalpitiya basin. “After laps of thirty years, this is the first time that we are going into the Kalpitiya basin to do a comprehensive geophysical survey. After completion of the Gravity, magnetic survey and after the reports, we would be able to attract more oil and gas companies to invest in Sri Lanka,” he said.

“This is the first time the country was in focusing on inland areas of the country to determine the hydrocarbon potential in the country. Earlier all our exploration activities were restricted to offshore areas but due to the available data that we have, we want to conduct this airborne gravity and magnetic survey in the North-western coast in the country as well as in the Jaffna Peninsula,” he said.

This gravity and the magnetic survey had been planned since 2012 and this process has commenced from 2018, the Minister said.