A Sri Lankan company will explore gas and oil in Sri Lanka and in foreign countries in another ten years without seeking the assistance of foreign companies, Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila said.
He told a press briefing at his Ministry in Colombo on Friday that the idea of setting up a local company, Sri Lanka Oil and Gas Company, was put into action after observing Malaysia’s Petronas and India’s ONGC.
The main objective of setting up the company is to give the benefits to the people without giving the benefits to a handful of officials and politicians.
Minister Gammanpila said the state will own 15 percent of the total number of shares and have one director on the Board of Directors of the company. The company will be the local partner of the foreign companies that come to explore oil and gas in Sri Lanka.
Cabinet approval was granted on November 23 for the proposal to set up the company, he said.