Sri Lanka may be able to significantly reduce its dependence on imported fuel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the future, following the discovery of domestic petroleum and gas deposits, according to Deputy Finance Minister Anil Jayantha.

Speaking during a programme on the Independent Television Network (ITN), Jayantha said that research and exploratory studies conducted so far had confirmed the presence of several fuel reserves within the country.

He revealed that five oil and gas deposits had been identified through the studies carried out to date. Of these, three to four reserves were believed to contain a considerable quantity of petroleum resources.

Jayantha further noted that research data had confirmed the existence of such fuel deposits in Sri Lanka, highlighting the potential for the country to develop its own petroleum resources.

However, he emphasised that the immediate challenge was to establish the necessary mechanisms and infrastructure to extract these resources. According to him, the process of developing and implementing an extraction mechanism would require a certain period of time before production could begin.

If successfully developed, the identified reserves could help reduce the country’s reliance on fuel and gas imports in the coming years, he added.