BANGLADESH OIL, GAS ATTRACTING RENEWED INTEREST
Bangladesh is attracting new interest to its petroleum sector, notably natural gas.
That renewed interest stems in large part from the government's plans to draft a new national energy plan that is expected to include privatization of petroleum assets.
A number of foreign companies have expressed an interest in investing in Bangladesh's natural gas sector, including transmission and distribution as well as exploration and production.
The Ministry of Energy is studying proposals by foreign companies seeking investment in natural gas but says it seeks only upstream investment by foreign companies. It advised those companies to await announcement of the new national energy plan.
A committee headed by the energy secretary is expected to complete a draft of the plan this month and present it to the cabinet for approval. A preliminary draft was disclosed last month (OGJ, July 5, p. 25).
The energy plan will focus on assessing the current state of Bangladesh's energy sector and on long term guidelines for the nation's energy use, including opening the sector to private and foreign investment (OGJ, June 21, p. 36). Bangladesh produces only about 500 b/d of oil but has natural gas reserves estimated at 10.7 tcf, with a potential via enhanced recovery estimated at 15 tcf.
COMPANY NEGOTIATIONS
Meantime, the government is expected soon to sign a production sharing contract with United Meridian International Corp. (UMIC), Houston, covering acreage in the Chittagong Hills area. UMIC submitted its PSC proposal to the government last year and is still negotiating terms on taxes and gas prices, among other items.
Negotiations with other countries are under way involving oil and gas exploration in the Chittagong and Sylhet areas.
Among other companies reported by the government as negotiating or seeking petroleum investments in Bangladesh are units of Amoco Corp., Anadarko Petroleum Corp., British Petroleum Co. plc, Japan National Oil Corp., Occidental Petroleum Corp., Stellar Oil & Gas Co. Ltd., Texaco Inc., Total, and Unocal Corp.
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