Feb 02, Colombo: Three foreign petroleum firms had offered bids for oil exploration in Sri Lanka's northwestern coast, the Petroleum Ministry said.

Block 001 which is 3,338.10 square kilometers in size had attracted bids from all three bidders: ONGC Videsh, Cairn India, and Niko Resources of Cyprus.

Block 002 is of 3,572.08 square kilometers and attracted bids from both Cairn India and Niko Resources while Block 003, the largest being 4,126.51 sq. km in size, had only Niko's sole bid.

The Ministry said the government will take about three or four months to evaluate the bids.