Bangladesh yesterday signed a deal with a joint venture of Australia-based Santos and Singapore-based Kris Energy to start oil and gas exploration in offshore shallow block 11 in the Bay of Bengal.
The government and Petrobangla together signed the production-sharing contract (PSC).
The contract period for the block is eight year, with the first five years for initial exploration and the rest for subsequent exploration.
Santos and Kris Energy offered to invest $32m to conduct 2D seismic survey of 887 line-km, 3D seismic survey of 300sq-km and drill a well. The profit share ratio of the government would be 55%-80% for both gas and oil.
If the companies goes into commercial operation, then Bapex will bear 10% of the total investment cost.
“We will also sign a PSC for a shallow block with the US-based ConocoPhillips next month,” Petrobangla Chairman Hossain Monsur told the Dhaka tribune yesterday.
ConocoPhillips has offered to invest $23.5m to conduct 2D seismic survey of 2,347 line-km, 3D-seismic survey of a 500sq-km area and drill one exploration well in block 7. The profit-sharing ratio for the government would be 55%-80% for both gas and oil.
After participating in an international tender, Santos and Kris Energy obtained the exploration rights to block 11 and ConocoPhillips got block 7.
On February 17, Bangladesh signed two deals with India’s state-owned ONGC Videsh Limited and Oil India Limited to start oil and gas exploration in offshore shallow blocks 4 and 9.
Yesterday during the signing with Santos and Kris, Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Prime Minister’s Adviser Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, and Energy and Mineral Resources Division Secretary Md Mozammel Haque Khan were present.
Senior Assistant Secretary for Energy and Mineral Resources Division Khadiza Naznin, Petrobangla Secretary Imam Hossain, Secretary of Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (Bapex) Sawkat Osman, President of Santos Sangu Field Limited Andrew De Garis, and General Manager (Bangladesh) of Kris Energy (Asia) Limited Edwin G Bowles signed the deals on behalf of their sides.
Muhith said: “We are giving importance to exploration for the energy sector as it has been the key to any development of the civilization. We will continue efforts to achieve energy security.”
