Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged the Russian state-run oil and gas exploration company Gazprom to conduct more seismic surveys in Bangladesh for more gas exploration.
The premier made the request when a delegation of Gazprom International, led by its CEO Valeriy Gulev, called on her at her official Ganobhaban residence in the capital on Thursday morning, reports BSS.
PM's Press Secretary AKM Shamim Chowdhury briefed the reporters after the meeting.
The Gazprom has proposed to work with Bangladesh's state-run BAPEX for exploration of gas in the country's plain lands, hill tracts and offshore areas, Shamim told the reporters.
The Gazprom CEO apprised the prime minister that his company has been assisting BAPEX in developing 10 gas fields in the country side by side increasing 20% production of gas in Bangladesh.
Two more gas fields in the country would be developed by the Gazprom along with BAPEX, he told the PM.
Valeriy also mentioned that he would request his government to give more scholarships to Bangladeshi students in Russia in the fields of higher education in the gas and medical sectors.
The Gazprom high official proposed gas exploration in joint venture with BAPEX in the third country outside Bangladesh like Myanmar.
Sheikh Hasina, however, suggested that the joint-venture proposal for exploration of gas in the third country could be considered in the next phase.
Gazprom is a global energy company. Its major business lines are geological exploration, production, transportation, storage, processing and sales of gas, gas condensate and oil, sales of gas as a vehicle fuel as well as generation and marketing of heat and electric power.
Gazprom holds the world's largest natural gas reserves. The Company's share in the global and Russian gas reserves makes up 18 and 72% respectively. It accounts for 14 and 74% of the global and Russian gas output accordingly.