Zameer says part of the planned national oil reserve may be leased to major oil companies

Finance Minister Moosa Zameer on Wednesday said the government is now considering leasing out part of the planned national oil reserve, which was announced last month.

Last month, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu said the government had launched a long‑term study to establish a national oil reserve in Maldives within the next five years.

Referring to the statement at a press conference on Wednesday, Zameer said STO is working to identify a location for the reserve. He said the site must be easily accessible to large vessels in different weather conditions.

Zameer said the oil reserve will be established in three phases. He said surveys are currently being conducted on two islands near Male', and additional surveys will begin next week.

Zameer said the aim is to submit the plan, including how to raise funds for the project, to the President within the next two weeks.

“The war has already begun and right now the investment may not come right away, but the necessary preparations will continue,” he said.

Zameer said Maldives’ oil reserves need to be increased in lieue of global developments in recent years. However, he noted that some people question why the government is considering storing enough oil for a one‑year stock.

“One of the very simple answers is that we, for example, keep our stock for six months and we can even rent the rest. We have come to know that there are a lot of oil companies that want to keep stocks within the Indian Ocean,” Finance Minister Moosa Zameer said.

Zameer said agreements could be signed with major oil companies and national oil companies, including those in the Middle East, to lease part of the reserve.

He said there are many additional opportunities that come with increasing the country’s oil reserves.

The revelation that the government is considering establishing an oil reserve comes at a time when oil supplies have been disrupted and prices have surged in recent days due to the war between Iran, Israel and the United States in the Middle East.

Gas and oil prices rose 12.48 percent in March compared to February, according to the Bureau of Statistics.