Bangladesh has finally begun surveys for oil and gas exploration in the Bay of Bengal, but the people of the country will have to wait at least seven years before any of the fuel can be extracted from the sea, Petrobangla General Manager Shahnewaz Parvez said on Thursday.
“In the first three years, the surveys will be carried out to find out which blocks have gas or oil. After that, foreign companies will buy the surveys. Only then can search and extraction work begins. It will take at least five years. It usually takes longer than that,” he said.
He added that one in six reviews are positive in most countries of the world, but it is possible to get two out of six in the case of Bangladesh.
“But for that, we need to know which block has gas or oil and how much. After ascertaining all these things, the extraction process will be started in accordance with the extraction cost. If the cost is more than the quantity, then you have to look for a new one,” according to the Petrobangla GM.
He also said that it will take at least seven years to complete the survey, search, excavation and other activities to make any fuel found suitable for use by citizens.
He further said Bangladesh has to depend on five foreign companies for the extraction, as no Bangladeshi companies can bear the cost of the endeavour. The government will invite tenders from March.
The international company TGS-Schlumberger in March 2020 started activities for a multi-client survey in 26 blocks of the Bay of Bengal, three years after signing an agreement with Petrobangla.
TGS CEO Kristian Johansen at the time said: “We are delighted to start this multiphase seismic program, which is much needed to understand the subsea resources of the Bay of Bengal. It is considered one of the vast unexplored frontier basins in the world. The results of the survey may be available in early 2024.”
After settling maritime boundary disputes in the International Court of Justice with Myanmar in 2012 and India in 2014, Bangladesh established ownership of more than 118,813 square kilometres of sea area.
