Niko Resources committed to get the oil

Canadian blue chip Niko Resources has shown a strong interest in the bid round for oil exploration in the Mannar Basin. This highly successful Canadian oil company listed in the Calgary Stock Exchange has bid for all three blocks put on offer in Sri Lanka's first ever bid round.

Vice president of Niko Keith Rawlinson who was in Sri Lanka to submit the bids said that they were really keen on securing these three blocks on offer and developing Sri Lanka's petroleum resources. We are committed to spending what it takes to get the oil out," he said.

Niko was the first North American oil company to invest in India. Together with their joint venture partner Reliance they made the biggest discovery of natural gas in India. This discovery believed to be 14 trillion cubic feet in the KG basin has come as a boon to the energy hungry Indian economy.

Niko started its exploration business in the early '90s by buying a block that ONGC and its Russian partner labled unviable and discarded. Where others saw only water NIKO foresaw the Petroleum and moved forward with exploration plans.

Today this very same block produces half a million cubic feet of natural gas a day. The Russian companies have already done the drilling and discarded the Mannar basin to be unviable. Niko promises to repeat the same old success story, he said.

Analyst say these offshore blocks are very small and it would be wise if the government awards all three blocks to one company so that there would be economies of scale and the committed money could be used more effectively. Niko with its feet firmly placed in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Thailand is poised well to step into Sri Lanka.

Oil exploration is a very high risk investment which offers only 10% success rate which too is not guaranteed, neighbouring India has so far awarded more than 400 blocks in both onshore and offshore out of which only four blocks currently produce oil/gas.

Every Sri Lankan hopes that at least one out of these three blocks contains commercially viable oil/gas deposits offering some relief to the Government which currently spends over two billion Dollars per year on petroleum imports.