Cairn India to Begin Sri Lanka Second Phase Exploration

Cairn India said on Monday that it hopes to start the second phase of drilling oil and natural gas deposits off Sri Lanka.

During the first phase that began in August, Cairn drilled three wells, but found no oil in the third well, the company said, adding that it will continue to study the other two wells off Sri Lanka's northwestern coast of Mannar.

In October, Cairn India informed the government that it had found natural gas in its first well, the first hydrocarbon discovery in Sri Lanka, but said it was too early to determine whether would be economically viable to drill.

Following the success of first phase, Cairn Lanka has notified the government of Sri Lanka of its intention to enter the second phase of exploration, it added.

The company has said it is too early to provide estimates of the size of reserves discovered and that further drilling will be required to determine whether they are commercially viable.

The first phase of the exploration programme involved the acquisition, processing and interpretation of 1,753 square kilometres of 3D seismic data and a three-well, deepwater drilling programme.

Cairn India said that in the first phase it had exceeded its commitments in the seismic programme by 20 percent. In the drilling programme, it exceeded the drilling depth commitment by 50 percent, it added.