Sri Lanka, Aug. 26 -- The Government yesterday launched the Sri Lanka Licensing Round 2026, offering four offshore petroleum exploration blocks in the Mannar Basin to qualified international energy companies as part of its efforts to unlock the country's offshore hydrocarbon potential.

The four exploration blocks span nearly 34,000 square kilometres in the Mannar Basin, extends across water depths of nearly 100 meters to 3,000 meters as previous exploration has found the presence of natural gas and condensate in the Mannar Basin.

The Government said prospective investors will be provided with comprehensive geological, geophysical and well data at cost, along with transparent bidding procedures and standard contractual agreements to faci...