Sri Lanka has reopened its offshore oil and gas exploration sector after more than a decade, offering four blocks in the Mannar Basin to international investors through a coordinated marketing campaign led by UK-based Frontier Energy Network.
Sri Lanka is seeking to attract global energy companies to develop its hydrocarbon resources through the Sri Lanka Licensing Round 2026, which offers four offshore exploration blocks covering approximately 34,000 square kilometres in the Mannar Basin. The move represents a significant reopening of the country's upstream petroleum sector, which has remained largely dormant since Cairn India's exit over a decade ago following exploration activities that discovered natural gas and condensate but did not reach commercial production.
Frontier Energy Network, a UK-based specialist in international energy investment promotion, has been appointed to market the licensing opportunity to potential bidders worldwide. Through its PetroInvest platform, Frontier will conduct a targeted campaign combining digital promotion, direct investor engagement and industry networking. According to Frontier CEO Gayle Meikle, the strategy involves creating awareness among companies with the technical expertise and capital necessary to evaluate Sri Lanka's offshore acreage. A dedicated digital hub has been developed to provide prospective investors with centralised access to bidding information, geological maps and technical data.
The international promotion campaign includes investor engagement events in London during the World Energies Summit on 29-30 September, a virtual briefing on 21 October and participation in the Asia Petroleum Geoscience Conference in Kuala Lumpur on 16-17 November. According to Petroleum Development Authority of Sri Lanka Director General Dr. Neil De Silva, bids are expected to close in early 2027, with block awards, seismic surveys and exploration drilling to follow. Commercial production is targeted for 2032, contingent on commercially viable resources being discovered.
The Mannar Basin already contains two gas discoveries from 2011—Dorado with estimated resources of 314 billion cubic feet and Barracuda with 525 billion cubic feet. Dr. De Silva noted that technological advances and improved deepwater exploration economics since Cairn's previous operations have made development more feasible, with Chinese companies and technology increasingly prominent in the global sector.
