Pakistan recently discovered a massive gas reserve under the Arabian Sea through a joint survey with China’s cooperation. However, the volume of the reserve has not yet been disclosed. Industry insiders believe that if this vast resource can be extracted, it could transform Pakistan’s economy on a large scale. The country could achieve self-sufficiency in gas production and reduce its dependence on energy imports. For this reason, the government is urging investors to participate in more extensive gas exploration. Pakistan’s state-owned investment body, the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), has already expressed interest in investing in the project.
Prior to Pakistan, neighboring India reported a major breakthrough in deep-sea oil and gas exploration back in January 2024. Around 35 kilometers off the coast of the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, the state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) discovered a large reserve of oil and gas. According to ONGC, once drilling is completed, the site could produce an average of 45,000 barrels of oil and 10 million cubic feet (MMcf) of gas per day. This would account for around 11 percent of India’s total daily oil output and 15 percent of its total gas production. Based on preliminary estimates, the exploration could save India more than 100 billion rupees annually in energy costs.
Bangladesh resolved its maritime boundary dispute with Myanmar back in March 2012. After completing surveys and exploration, the following year, Myanmar discovered a massive gas reserve in the Bay of Bengal near the Bangladesh border. Several trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas have already been extracted from the Mya and Shwe wells. In addition to meeting domestic demand, Myanmar exports this gas to China.
While neighboring countries, including India and Myanmar, as well as Pakistan, have discovered vast reserves of oil and gas in their maritime territories, Bangladesh has yet to achieve similar success. Over the past decade, especially after resolving maritime boundaries with its two neighbors, Bangladesh has taken no effective steps for oil and gas exploration in the sea. Even the international tender invited in March 2024 failed to attract any foreign companies.
Experts note that following the resolution of maritime disputes, Myanmar and India made significant investments in deep-sea energy exploration and successfully attracted foreign companies. Bangladesh, on the other hand, relied on an import-dependent energy policy, losing valuable time. Even when the international tender for offshore oil and gas exploration—called by the now ousted Awami League government—was opened during the Interim Government period, no foreign company responded. As a result, the vast energy resources in Bangladesh’s maritime territory remain untapped.
Geologist and energy expert Professor Badrul Imam told Bonik Barta, “After the maritime boundary was settled, Myanmar found gas. India is discovering a huge amount of oil in the deep sea. In between these two areas lies Bangladesh’s waters, where there is significant potential to find gas and attract foreign companies. But when they are ready, we are not. By the time we prepare, they might have already invested in other countries.”
Calling for proper and effective government measures to attract investment, the energy expert added, “Last year’s tender was announced, but no company showed interest. The issue needs to be investigated thoroughly. Where the problem lies and what measures are necessary to make foreign companies interested—these steps need to be taken.”
Bangladesh has 26 blocks in its deep and shallow sea boundaries. Of these, 15 are in deep sea areas and 11 in shallow waters. Several of these blocks were leased to foreign companies for gas exploration. While some companies initially invested and started work, they eventually pulled out. Most recently, Indian companies ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) and Oil India Limited (OIL) had been exploring oil and gas in the shallow sea blocks SS-04 and SS-09. After more than a decade of work, they failed to report any promising results. Petrobangla has recently withdrawn the performance bank guarantees of the two companies. As a result, there are currently no active foreign companies conducting oil and gas exploration in Bangladesh’s maritime territory.
In Southeast Asia, countries such as Indonesia, Brunei, and Thailand have specified clear incentives for foreign companies in their energy-sector bidding rounds, drawing the interest of international oil and gas companies (IOCs). This month, the Indonesian government invited bids for the Perkasa Oil and Gas Block on East Java Island. IOCs have also been invited to invest in the South Sumatra Gagaha Block. In April 2025, Brunei’s Petroleum Authority attracted new investors to its maritime territories through open tenders. In Thailand, 25 companies have purchased bid documents for nine offshore blocks. Vietnam, through separate tenders, has brought in various companies as service and supply partners in the energy sector. Malaysia received strong responses to at least two deep-sea tenders, with its state-owned company PETRONAS, expecting to sign agreements with foreign companies this year. In East Asia, China has also issued tenders to attract domestic and foreign investors for several of its oil fields and refineries.
While international bidding rounds in Southeast and East Asia have received strong responses in 2025, Bangladesh’s experience has been entirely different. After receiving no bids in its international tender for offshore oil and gas exploration in 2024, the government is now preparing to launch a second round.
Mohammad Shoaib, Director (PSC) of Petrobangla, told Bonik Barta, “We have reviewed the reasons why no company participated in the tender for offshore oil and gas exploration and submitted a report to the Energy Division. The problems have been specifically identified there. Once the ministry examines the issues and makes a decision, we will move forward with the bidding process. We hope to invite tenders for offshore exploration within this year.”
The government’s Energy & Mineral Resources Division (EMRD) is moving forward with plans to invite fresh bids for offshore oil and gas exploration. Officials are trying to identify why foreign companies purchased multi-dimensional survey data for offshore areas but did not participate in the bidding process. Through communication with the companies, they have learned about several issues. Senior ministry officials said the EMRD is working to revise and address these concerns before launching new tenders with the government’s approval.
Regarding the matter, Energy Secretary Mohammad Saiful Islam told Bonik Barta, “The process for inviting fresh bids for offshore oil and gas exploration is underway. We have spoken with various foreign companies to understand why they did not participate in the previous tenders. The companies raised issues regarding profit-sharing margins for oil and gas production, gaps in survey data, and the Workers Profit Participation Fund (WPPF). We are now working on how many of these issues can be revised and addressed. The goal is to complete these processes quickly and prepare for a new bidding round soon.”
According to Petrobangla sources, in the previous offshore oil and gas exploration tender (March 2024), seven foreign companies initially purchased documents. To make the process more competitive, the deadline was extended by three months. But in the end, no foreign company submitted a bid.
Offshore oil and gas exploration in Bangladesh began to gain momentum around 2008. Under the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) 2008, the U.S. company ConocoPhillips started work in two deep-sea blocks in 2010. They also carried out two-dimensional surveys. But in 2015, the company left after its demand for higher gas prices was not met.
Later, under PSC 2012, India’s ONGC Videsh signed contracts in 2014 for two shallow-water blocks. Another joint venture between Australia’s Santos and Singapore’s KrisEnergy signed contracts for two other blocks. In 2020, Santos exited, saying it was winding down its operations in the region. Meanwhile, under the Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply (Special Provisions) Act, South Korea’s Posco Daewoo signed agreements in 2016 for two offshore blocks without a tender. They, too, left Bangladesh before the scheduled deadline.
As a result, for more than a decade, no foreign company was awarded work in Bangladesh’s offshore blocks. When the country’s gas shortage began, the government tried to fill the gap by importing LNG from the global market. From 2018 to 2024 alone, energy imports cost at least BDT 1.5 trillion. Energy experts say that because the then-Awami League government chose the easier path of importing LNG, it showed little interest in offshore exploration, leaving the sector stagnant for years and failing to attract foreign investment.
Energy expert Professor Badrul Imam believes that oil and gas exploration activities in Bangladesh have lacked continuity. He said there has been long-standing reluctance, especially in deep-sea exploration, and overcoming it is now essential.