RIYADH, 13 June 2006 — Sri Lanka is to send a team to the Kingdom to get on-the-job training to evaluate the pros cons of a proposed production-sharing contract for the island’s offshore area in oil and gas exploration.
This was the outcome of the talks held between Minister of Transport, Petroleum and Petroleum Resources Development Abdul Hameed Mohamed Fowzie and his Saudi counterpart Ali Al-Naimi.
The Kingdom has state-of-the-art refinery projects at Saudi Aramco headquartered in the Eastern Province. The proposed training program will be held in the Aramco facility under the supervision of the Saudi Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.
Minister Fowzie who was leading a delegation to finalize Haj arrangements for the next pilgrimage in Makkah also found time to meet Naimi here as a follow-up to his meeting held in the Saudi capital two months ago. “The Saudi minister has kindly agreed to train our oil and gas professionals in providing training in oil exploration sector to assist the island in our exploration venture,” Fowzie told Arab News.
“If the fiscal terms such as royalty, taxes and the government take is high, the area may not be attractive to oil and gas companies,” Fowzie said, pointing out that the establishment of a fiscal regime is further complicated by the limited technical knowledge of the area.
The minister said recent seismic surveys have indicated that the area known as Mannar Basin has potentials for oil and gas accumulation. The basin stretches from Mannar in the north to Kalutara in the south of the country.
The visiting minister also paid a courtesy call on Crown Prince Sultan to seek clemency for the three Sri Lankans who have been sentenced to death for armed robbery. Fowzie said that the crown prince has promised to forward his appeal to the monarch who decides on amnesty for the prisoners who are facing the gallows.
The crown prince had told the visiting minister that the Kingdom valued the independence of judiciary and cases conducted were dealt according to Islamic law governing the land. Fowzie took the opportunity of thanking Mohammed Mahmoud Al-Ali, Saudi ambassador in Colombo and A.M.J. Sadiq, Sri Lankan ambassador in Riyadh for their endeavors in coordinating these two important meetings in Riyadh.
“Normally a Haj delegation is not allowed to meet any of these Saudi dignitaries during this specific visit.
However, these two envoys have run an extra mile to help me arrange these two meetings at short notice. They deserve my special thanks,” the minister said.
