Land Rights Issuance

According to Section 7 of the Petroleum Resources Act, No.26 of 2003, any person who intends to conduct petroleum operations in Sri Lanka has to enter into a Petroleum Resources Agreement or any other appropriate agreement with the Government of Sri Lanka or should be otherwise authorized by the Act. As per Section 8 the Petroleum Resources Development Committee (PRDC) may invite persons to enter into a Petroleum Resources Agreement (PRA) with the State in respect of exploration blocks. Every application to enter into a PRA shall be made to the PRDC, in the prescribed form and each PRA shall be in relation to only one exploration block. Section 9 of the Act stipulates that the Cabinet of Ministers, who shall after considering all the applications, select from amongst the applicants, the person whom the Cabinet of Ministers considers best qualified by experience and technical capacity to conduct petroleum operations and whose participation would afford the greatest economic benefit to Sri Lanka. Registers and other records (instruments and interests) pertaining to exploration/ development blocks are maintained at the PRDS registry.