French Supermajor Total S.A. (TOTF.PA) signed a deal Thursday with the government of Sri Lanka to explore potential offshore ultra-deep water blocks, according to the Sri Lanka’s Oil Ministry.

The agreement, which has been in the works since 2014, would allow Total to explore marginal areas on Sri Lanka’s East Coast.

The call for proposals came after India’s Cairn backed out of the deal in 2015 after the deal lost appeal amid falling oil prices. Cairn discovered two gas wells in 2011.

As part of the agreement, Total would conduct technical surveys and analyze data to assess the viability of oil and gas at commercial volumes. This data, worth several millions, would be owned by Sri Lanka, and would allow Sri Lanka to more accurately assess the potential for production in the region.

(OilPrice.com)