The global energy giant US oil company ExxonMobil has offered to invest up to $30 billion for deep-sea oil and gas exploration in Bangladesh's Bay of Bengal set to commence by November this year.
Bangladesh government is considering towards the agreement with ExxonMobil is positive, said Petrobangla and Energy and Mineral Resources Division.
It will form a technical committee with experts, lawyers and related stockholders.
Energy experts of Bangladesh welcomed the ExxonMobil’s proposal and said, “The US Company is interested in exploring the sea of Bangladesh for its own interests due to geopolitical reasons. It is an opportunity for Bangladesh. It will open the door to oil and gas exploration in the deep sea.” However, they advised to focus on protecting the interests of Bangladesh in the agreement.
According to Petrobangla, there are 26 oil blocks in Bangladesh’s parts of Bay of Bengal, in which 11 blocks in shallow water and 15 blocks in deep water.
ExxonMobil proposed to get all the deep sea exploration in January this year on their very step. However, the government has decided not to allow any single company operating in the Bay of Bengal and there were many discussions about US-Bangladesh relations in the political arena.
On July 16, ExxonMobil sent another letter to the State Minister for Power Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid. The letter reads, the oil company will invest $40 to $50 million to conduct a two-dimension seismic survey in the deep sea. If there is a possibility of getting gas in this survey, three dimension seismic surveys will be done later for more confirmation and it will cost $50 to $100 million.
Later, it will be investing $80 million, in the development of each well, count $10 to $30 billion for deep sea exploration.
In the letter, ExxonMobil said if the whole process is successful, Bangladesh will save $3 billion yearly from the amount it currently spends on importing liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Petrobangla sources said ExxonMobil showed interest to quickly signing the deal with Bangladesh. They are now ready to negotiate in this regard after signing the MoU. The company is keen to start the two-dimension survey in November this year. For this reason, they have proposed to discuss in the mid-August. Before that, they also said that they will hold a direct discussion with the delegation of Bangladesh on July 24.
Even if there is no success in the exploration, it is ready to take the necessary investment as well as the technical risk for the deep sea survey in Bangladesh, the proposal letter reads.
Speaking to The Business Post, Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, power energy and mineral resources said, "At many times, some international companies showed interest in deep sea exploration but later they left. Exxon Mobil may be interested in Bangladesh for its geostrategic loaction. There will be reconciliation with them by prioritizing the interests of Bangladesh.”
Petrobangla said the model PSC-2023 is in final stage to attract foreign companies for offshore oil and gas exploration. It is likely to be taken up in the cabinet on procurement next week for approval. According to sources, the government will set up a high-level committee to review Exxon Mobil's proposal and start formal discussions with them once the PSC revision is finalized.
Geologist Professor Badrul Imam said, "Despite the huge potential of getting oil and gas in the sea of Bangladesh, there is stagnant perspective. No exploration plan has been undertaken in the last 20 years.”
Onshore exploration is in stuck which interrupted to the countries energy supply. The government's dependence on imports to meet the deficit is increasing. In such a situation, the interest shown by ExxonMobil is very positive for Bangladesh, he added.
