Sri Lanka, Sept. 18 -- Sri Lanka's Ministerial Consultative Committee on Energy Affairs has approved a decision to invite investment proposals for the exploration and development of the nation's petroleum resources, according to a parliamentary statement issued on Thursday.

Under the newly approved order, any party seeking to explore or develop identified acreage must submit an investment proposal alongside the administrative fee specified in the invitation for bids.

The move marks the first oil and gas exploration drive under the administration of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

It follows an initiative last month in which Sri Lanka offered four offshore blocks in the Northwestern Mannar Basin to foreign investors, following a pre...