Sri Lanka to establish a ‘National Gas Company’

Sri Lanka to establish a ‘National Gas Company’

A National Policy on Natural Gas (NPNG) has been formulated by the Government to establish a ‘National Gas Company’.

The Company will consist of necessary powers, resources, and operational independence to handle all Government economic transactions relating to the natural gas industry in the country.

 

According to the Daily FT, it will be the Single Credible Creditworthy Entity (SCE) to handle all economic transactions pertaining to Natural Gas on behalf of the Government, either as its own business operations or by entering into Public-Private Partnership (PPP) ventures.

The policy enables the Government as well as Sri Lankan business community to participate in commercially-viable upstream, midstream and downstream projects.

It will include the exploration and production of indigenous natural gas, development, ownership, and operation of the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facilities and/or internal natural gas storage, pipeline transportation and distribution infrastructure facilities as appropriate.

Under the NPNG which has been prepared in consultation with relevant stakeholders and published by Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila, the Government will decide on the relevant parameters, including minimum threshold limits on liquidity, revenues, net income, and a net worth.

As Sri Lanka’s energy sector is dominated by State-Owned Enterprises, the NPNG aims at enhancing private sector participation under a well-designed regulatory regime to optimise the gains for the national economy and public.

A key objective of the NPNG is to increase penetration of natural gas in all sectors towards achieving a minimum 30% of the total energy mix by 2030 and to create an avenue of foreign exchange earnings established through export and any viable commercial activities using natural gas.