|
The government has expedited gas exploration activities to boost gas supply against its mounting demand across the country, official sources said.
"The international oil companies (IOCs) operative in the country have already been asked to accelerate exploration activities to produce additional gas as soon as possible," a senior Petrobangla official told the FE.
He said the Unocal operated Moulavibazar and Bibiana gas fields are crucial from where gas supply could be accelerated significantly.
The government high-ups already asked the Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD) of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources (MPEMR) for exploring new gas wells on emergency basis so that an additional 45 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) could be added to the national grid by the year end.
MPEMR sources said Moulavibazar is to produce 25 mmcfd and new wells of Titas gas fields are to supply the remaining 20 mmcfd of gas.
Currently, the country is experiencing a shortage of around 100-mmcfd against the demand of over 1600-mmcfd of gas everyday, they added.
Country's gas supply is expected to stabilised sometime in 2007 when country's second-largest gas field at Bibiana will come into operation, producing between 250 and 300 mmcfd gas for the national gas network.
In the meantime the government is confident to go for the country's third round bidding to explore new gas fields especially in the exclusive economic zone in the deep sea.
Before approaching for the third round bidding the government is set to float international tender by December next to carry out a study in the deep sea to determine the country's unexposed energy strengths in the exclusive economic zone.
The seismic surveys would be conducted up to 200 nautical miles into the Bay of Bengal by April next year, a Petrobangla official said.
After getting a reliable picture of energy potencies in the deep sea, the government would go for third round bidding having a bargaining edge into the hands of the government, the top brass of the country's parent organisation in oil, gas and mineral resources sector added.
A good number of international companies including those of Europe and India have already expressed interests for exploration in offshore blocks in Bangladesh territory.
But the government informed the international firms about its decisions of floating international tender before signing any agreement to explore gas in the deep sea.
Regarding the seismic surveys to be conducted by the IOCs Petrobangla sources said the government would not have to shoulder the expenses to conduct these surveys.
They said the IOCs would have to bear the expenses of their own. They would, however, be allowed to do business selling data and the hydrographic and geological mapping information to the interested parties in the global market.
In the previous instances the government signed production-sharing contracts (PSCs) with the IOCs for the oil and gas blocks for exploration without having knowledge of energy strengths there.
They said recent discovery of huge gas reserves in some offshore gas fields in neighbouring India and Myanmar has prompted the government to award exploratory works in the unexplored off shore blocks.
The success of the Cairn Energy in getting positive test results on its gas discovery at the offshore sites at Hatiya and Meghhnama under Block 16 with an estimated reserve of 4.0 trillion cubic feet (TCF) also prompted the government to go for seismic survey before inviting bidding.
|