State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has said that seven international companies have bought tenders so far to participate in oil and gas exploration in the country's sea.
The state minister said this to reporters after a seminar held on Wednesday in a hotel in the capital.
Nasrul Hamid said that many people have expressed interest in working in the sea of Bangladesh and are doing so. More than 15 international companies participated in today's seminar.
He said: “The interest of the country as well as the interest of the investing company were seen in the tender. As a result, I am very optimistic about this year's tender.”
Prime Minister's Energy Adviser Tawfiq E Elahi Chowdhury said that there are many differences in the new tender compared to the previous tender. Now many benefits have increased and a profitable deal is being made for both parties.
"We took a middle ground and entered into a PSC (Production Sharing Agreement). Chevron has invested 4 billion dollars in the country. This proves how much investment potential our country has,” he added.
On March 10, Petrobangla invited tenders for oil and gas exploration in the sea.
It had invited 55 international companies to explore oil and gas in the 24 blocks of the Bay of Bengal.
Bidders were granted a six-month window to submit their bids.
Earlier, the last tender for oil and gas exploration in the sea was called in 2016.
Then in 2019, a new Production Sharing Agreement (PSC) was made, however, no tender was issued at that time.
After almost four years, the cabinet gave final approval to the new PSC in July last year. Bangladesh settled maritime boundary disputes with India in 2012 and Myanmar in 2014.
Currently, there are 15 blocks in the deep sea and 11 in the shallow sea.