State-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (Bapex) has selected four international oil and gas companies (IOCs) to jointly carry out exploration and development of several geological structures.
Bangladesh does not have the funds or technical capacity to explore these structures, so Bapex is opting for a joint venture.
“Now, we will send requests for proposals to the IOCs to explore and develop four potential onshore gas structures in gas block 22, in the greater Chittagong region. One of the companies will be selected on the basis of the proposal they submit,” Bapex General Manager (Geological Division) Md Mijanur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
Earlier, Bapex invited expressions of interest from the IOCs. Several IOCs submitted proposal and of those Bapex selected four companies.
Sources said the requests for proposal stipulate that until production begins, the company partnering Bapex will bear sole responsibility for mishaps and the costs of correcting them.
Bapex will not spend any money during the exploration phase. The joint venture between Bapex and the selected firm will come into effect during the production phase, with Bapex taking 30-35% of revenues.
The selected companies are China International Trust and Investment Corporation, China National Petroleum Corporation, China based Geo-Jade Petroleum Corporation and USA based Improved Petroleum Recovery.
Bapex hopes to explore a number of well-defined four-way anticline closures – Patiya, Jaldi, Kasalong and Sitapahar – situated in Chittagong and the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Patiya was drilled during the early 50s, Jaldi in the mid-60s and Sitapahar in the late 80s. All of them were considered encouraging, while Kasalong is ready to be drilled as well.
These prospects are located very close to the industrial gateway and port city of Chittagong, which is an assured gas market that has existing gas transportation infrastructure.
Earlier, several state-owned global oil giants – China National Offshore Oil Corporation and Sinopec, Thai PTTEP and Russian Gazprom – all showed interest in striking joint venture deals with Bapex.
A Bapex invitation for expressions of interest (EoI) in 2010 met with interest from Sinopec. The EoI to drill a series of wells in greater Chittagong to explore gas under the Speedy Supply of Power and Energy (Special Provision) Act 2010 was later cancelled.
Bapex currently has just one joint venture with Canadian Niko Resources. Together, they developed Feni Gas Field, but production has been suspended because of a payment dispute. They also undertook drilling at Chhatak.
The country’s lone state-owned oil and gas exploration firm has so far discovered seven gas fields – Saldanadi, Fenchuganj, Shahbazpur, Semutung, Sundalpur, Srikail and Rupganj.
