{
  "id": 11801888,
  "title": "What lies behind our waters?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/03/what-lies-behind-our-waters",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-03T23:50:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Island Sri Lanka",
    "slug": "the-island-sri-lanka",
    "url": "http://island.lk/what-lies-behind-our-waters/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Professor Upul Premarathne, an expert in Oceanography and Marine Geology at the University of Ruhuna, emphasizes that Sri Lanka's land areas are not promising for offshore petroleum exploration. This is due to the lack of sedimentary basins with sufficient thickness, typically over three kilometres, necessary for the formation of commercial petroleum deposits. Consequently, exploration efforts have primarily concentrated on offshore sedimentary basins, notably the Cauvery and Mannar basins. The Cauvery Basin, situated off Sri Lanka's northern and northwestern coast, and the Mannar Basin, located south of Mannar Island on the western and southwestern coast, are both shared with India. The Mannar Basin has garnered more attention due to its geological suitability and the discovery of natural gas through exploration wells Dorado and Barracuda in 2011. While the potential for crude oil exists, establishing a commercially viable petroleum field requires further investigation into factors such as the size, quality, and recoverable volume of hydrocarbons, as well as production rates and reservoir characteristics.",
  "summary": "Professor Upul Premarathne on offshore exploration By Zanita Careem Professor Upul Premarathne is a professor in Oceanography and Marine Geology at the University of Ruhuna, as well as a chartered geologist. He formerly served as a Petroleum Geologist in the Economic Research Department of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. He holds a PhD in […]",
  "key_points": [
    "Sri Lanka's land areas unsuitable for offshore petroleum exploration",
    "Focus on offshore sedimentary basins: Cauvery and Mannar",
    "Mannar Basin has more attention due to geological suitability"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}