Insights into Sri Lanka Cauvery and Mannar Basins from FTG and Aeromagnetic DATA

Bell Geospace, the world leaders in gravity gradiometry, has conducted the first aerial mapping of petroleum resources in Sri Lanka in Q4 of 2021, and will be presenting these insights – together with Wintermoon Geophysics- at the prestigious SEAPEX (South East Asia Petroleum Exploration Society) Asia Pacific Conference in London on Thursday the 30th of June.

The mapping project was conducted during the last quarter of 2021 as part of a collaboration between Bell Geospace and the Government of Sri Lanka, with the aim to explore offshore oil and gas potential in the seas off the North and Northwest of the island.

This entailed the acquisition, processing and interpretation of data from Airborne 3D Full Tensor Gravity Gradiometry (FTG), Gravity Gradiometry, and Magnetic Surveys that were employed to gather data on hydrocarbon potential below the surfaces around the Cauvery Basin off the Northern peninsula and the Mannar Basin off the West coast. Data and interpretationfrom this survey has revealed new insights into the structure, tectonic history, and hydrocarbon potential of Sri Lanka’s Mannar Basin M1, M2, and the Cauvery Basin C1 blocks.

With Sri Lanka outlaying US$ 6-7 billion annually to purchase fuel, and the domestic hydrocarbon potential estimated at several billion barrels of oil and 9 trillion cubic feet of gas, this is a potential multibillion-dollar revenue stream for the Government of Sri Lanka. Especially taking into consideration that Cairn India, which explored the Mannar M2 block, invested US$200 million in the region 10 years ago.