The Cabinet has decided to formulate a special legal framework related to exploring and extracting oil, gas, and minerals present in the territorial waters of the Maldives.
The President's Office stated that the proposal was submitted at yesterday's Cabinet meeting by the Minister of Fisheries, Agriculture and Ocean Resources, Ahmed Shiyam.
The President's Office mentioned that it was also decided during the meeting for the Ministry of Fisheries and relevant agencies to initiate all necessary procedures required to conduct activities related to the exploration and extraction of non-living natural resources in the Maldivian territory.
It was further decided at the meeting to draft a special bill regarding the granting of permits for the exploration and extraction of non-living marine natural resources, determining the ownership of extracted resources, and strengthening, organizing, and managing the industry, according to the President's Office.
The President's Office added that with this decision, official practical legal and administrative efforts have now begun to assess the economic wealth in the Maldivian territorial waters and to secure the benefits of these resources for the nation.
During the administration of former President Abdulla Yameen, work was also carried out after contracting a foreign company to search for oil.
After receiving the results of a study conducted in the Maldives in 2014 by scientists from the University of Hamburg in Germany, the Fisheries Minister at the time, Mohamed Shaini, had stated that geological surveys showed evidence of "fluid or gas" seeping from beneath the ground in Maldivian territory.
Shaini had also stated at the time that oil was previously believed to be present in the Maldivian territory because it was revealed that a freshwater river existed beneath the ground in the Maldivian region. He noted then that biological materials required to find or form oil are contained in such rivers.
Shaini also stated that following the discovery of signs indicating the presence of oil, difficulties were encountered in taking the work to another level due to an extraordinary drop in oil prices on the global market.
