2021-09-07
News Categories : Committee News
Hon. Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila stated that the USD 267 billion worth of oil and gas resources hidden in the Mannar Basin could generate three times the total debt of the country. The Minister stated the aforesaid at the Consultative Committee on Energy held in Parliament today (07).
The Minister further stated that although investors who invest in these oil and gas drills are given 50%, USD 133.5 billions is Government owned and it is almost three times the total debt value of the country which is a total of USD 47 billion.
The Minister made this observation while briefing the Committee including Hon. Parliamentarians on the Petroleum Resources Bill to be tabled in Parliament for the second reading. Accordingly, the Bill was approved by the Committee.
The Minister further stated that this Bill, which seeks to regulate and manage the exploration of petroleum resources, including the establishment of the Petroleum Development Authority of Sri Lanka, will be presented to Parliament as a matter of priority for the Government.
Hon. Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila said that the Norochcholai power plant could operate for 120 years only from the gas in the Mannar Basin and the Sapugaskanda oil refinery could operate for 143 years with the oil alone.
Although our neighboring country India has been extracting oil and gas from the seas close to Sri Lanka since the 1940s, Sri Lanka has missed it due to various reasons. After lengthy discussions with experts on the subject, it was identified that there were several reasons have contributed for the aforesaid, the further Minister said.
The Minister said large companies around the world have not come to explore oil resources in Sri Lanka in the recent past due to various reasons.
Quote:
“We took steps to hand over this task to experts on the subject matter through the establishment of the Petroleum Development Authority given the lack of understanding on the scope of subject the officials who were to take decisions on this regard previously had. Also, as the regulatory powers such as the issuance of licenses were completely concentrated in the hands of the Minister, all activities had been disrupted when there was a change of the Minister. Therefore, we have decided to transfer all the powers of the Minister to the Board of Directors of this Authority. Also, a modern map was prepared to replace the existing traditional map for oil and gas exploration” the Minister added.
The Bill will also introduce a strong legal framework to protect these large investments and appoint a special committee to advise the minister, as billions of dollars will have to be invested in the industry, the Minister of Energy said.
Furthermore, in general, a country would succeed in one when drilling seven wells in search for oil and gas according to world standards. The Norwegian government had to dig 31 wells for one success story whilst 3 out of 4 wells drilled in Sri Lanka were successful the Minister said.
He also stated that he intends to seek the assistance of Sri Lankan experts in the field from around the world in this regard.
Committee Members Hon. State Minister Jayantha Samaraweera, Hon. Members of Parliament Chandima Weerakkody, Nalin Bandara, Muditha Prishanthi, Gunathilaka Rajapaksha, B.Y.G Ratnasekera and the Secretary to the Mrs. KDR Olga, Secretary to the Ministry were present at the meeting.
2025-11-22
Approval of the Committee was granted for eight reports that must be approved by CoPF under the Ministry of Finance Act The overall financial performance up to September 2025 of the major revenue-generating institutions under the Ministry of Finance was reviewed at the meeting of the Committee on Public Finance. This review took place on the Nov. 20th, when the Committee on Public Finance, chaired by Hon. Member of Parliament Harsha de Silva, met in Parliament. Accordingly, officials representing the Inland Revenue Department, the Sri Lanka Excise Department, and the Sri Lanka Customs presented the progress of their respective institutions for review. Officials representing the Public Debt Management Office also provided clarifications regarding the Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy for the period 2026 - 2030 and the borrowing plan for 2026. Furthermore, officials representing the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka explained the progress of the institution. During this discussion, foreign direct investment was reviewed, and officials pointed out that from January to September 2025, USD 827 million in foreign direct investment had been received. Accordingly, the Committee observed that the Board of Investment and other institutions should take effective measures to ensure that foreign investment continues to grow steadily over the coming years. Furthermore, approval was granted for eight reports that must be approved by the Committee on Public Finance, prepared in accordance with the provisions of the State Finance Management Act No. 44 of 2024. Hon. Deputy Ministers Chathuranga Abeysinghe and Nishantha Jayaweera, as well as Hon. Members of Parliament Ravi Karunanayake and Chithral Fernando, Attorney at Law, together with several others, attended this meeting.
2025-11-22
The document pertaining to the proposed draft Bill of the Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority, which is scheduled to be presented to Parliament upon Cabinet approval in the future, was extensively discussed at the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Economic Development and International Relations, Members of the Sub Committee under the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment established to identify future steps to resolve the microfinance debt issue, and the Women Parliamentarians' Caucus. This discussion took place on the Nov. 20th, when the Committees met in Parliament under the chairmanship of Hon. Members of Parliament Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney at Law and Samanmalee Gunasinghe. A group of officials from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and the Legal Department of the Treasury were also in attendance. Presenting their views, the officials stated that the initial draft related to this proposed Bill was published in January 2024. They further noted that petitions had been filed before the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka regarding the said draft, and that the new draft has been prepared including the amendments ordered to be incorporated by the Supreme Court, the Committee Stage amendments submitted by the Ministry of Finance to the Supreme Court, as well as other policy-related amendments, and the Gazette has now been prepared accordingly. It was stated further that the Bill is expected to be presented to the Tenth Parliament. Accordingly, the officials stated that the objective of the Bill is to establish the Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority of Sri Lanka, to regulate the business of money lending and microfinance business, to provide protection to customers of such services, and to repeal the Microfinance Act No. 6 of 2016. The composition of the Board of Directors of this Regulatory Authority was also discussed during the meeting. Hon. Member of Parliament Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney at Law pointed out that the absence of a member representing the customers of the microfinance business within the Board composition was concerning. It was also highlighted by the Hon. Members that women have been disproportionately affected due to the lack of regulation in the microfinance sector, and therefore the importance of having a Board member representing women was emphasized. Accordingly, the view of the Hon. Members was that a representative from the National Commission on Women, or the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs, or the Secretary to the line Ministry should be appointed as a member of the Board of Directors. Meanwhile, various other matters contained in the draft Bill were also discussed at length. It was stressed that the purpose of the Bill should be to prevent the social crisis and harm that have arisen at ground level due to the operation of microfinance lending activities without any form of regulation. Accordingly, the Committee instructed the officials to incorporate the necessary amendments into the Bill that is to be introduced in the future. The officials stated that such amendments may be introduced at the Committee Stage of the Bill. Members of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Economic Development and International Relations, members of the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, Members of the Sub Committee under the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment established to identify future steps to resolve the microfinance debt issue, and several officials participated in this meeting.
2025-11-21
Hon. Minister of Women and Child Affairs, Saroja Savithri Paulraj stated that creating a society with an elevated mindset capable of serving humanity as human beings is the objective of the politics of the government. The Hon.Minister made these remarks during a meeting with representatives of the Eastern Social Development Foundation. She made these remarks on the occasion of the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus in Parliament held in Parliament recently, (Nov. 17) to discuss improving the political inclusion of women’s groups who do not have representation in local politics. Attention of the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus was also drawn to further expanding the possibility of obtaining nominations in a manner that represents special population groups living in the country. Furthermore, activities and the future work plan to be carried out under the leadership of the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus to support the global 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) from November 25 to December 10 were also discussed with representatives of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Members of the Caucus Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees Hemali Weerasekara, Samanmali Gunasingha, Krishnan Kalaichelvi, A.M.M.M. Rathwaththe, Hiruni Wijesinghe, Attorney at Law, Hasara Liyanage, Attorney at Law, Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney at Law, Geetha Herath, Attorney at Law, and Thushari Jayasingha, Attorney at Law were present at this meeting held.
2025-11-20
The Sectoral Oversight Committee on Environment, Agriculture and Resource Sustainability has drawn attention to the importance of accurately surveying and swiftly completing the mapping of all land in Sri Lanka. This matter was discussed when the Committee met on the Nov. 17th in Parliament, under the chairmanship of Hon. Member of Parliament Hector Appuhamy, to review the annual reports and annual performance reports of several State corporations, departments, commissions, and boards for the years 2021, 2022, and 2023. During the meeting, officials from the Survey Department informed the Committee that, as estimated, Sri Lanka has approximately 16.5 million land parcels, of which only about 2.5 million have been surveyed and mapped. Emphasizing the importance of completing the surveying and mapping of the remaining land parcels as soon as possible, the Committee Chairman stated that all relevant parties would be summoned before the Committee to discuss the necessary actions and the future work plan. The Committee also reviewed the annual reports of the Land Reform Commission for the years 2022 and 2023. In addition, the Committee held extensive discussions regarding the revenue loss caused by the Land Reform Commission granting land without entering into legally valid agreements. The Committee Chairman emphasized the importance of issuing land under proper lease agreements in the future and instructed officials to formulate a mechanism to recover the outstanding lease payments and present a comprehensive report on all arrears to the Committee. The meeting was attended by Hon. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, and Committee Members Hon. MPs Gnanamuttu Srineshan, Susanta Kumara Navaratna, Sudath Balagalla, and Attorney-at-Law Bhagya Sri Herath.
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