The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Energy Affairs has approved an Order to formalize the process of calling for investment proposals for the exploration and development of petroleum resources in Sri Lanka.
The approval was granted at the committee’s meeting held recently (11) at Parliament, chaired by Minister of Ports, Civil Aviation and Energy, Anura Karunathilake.
The Order was made by the Minister of Energy under Section 48 of the Petroleum Resources Act, No. 21 of 2021, read together with Section 17 of the same Act, and had already received Cabinet approval. It was subsequently published in the Extraordinary Gazette No. 2497/37 dated July 16, 2026.
Under the new framework, any party seeking to explore or develop petroleum resources in one or more identified blocks must submit an investment proposal along with payment of the administrative fee specified in the relevant bid invitation.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Minister of Energy Arkam Illyas, Members of Parliament, senior officials of the Ministry of Energy, and other representatives. (Newswire)