Five international and domestic companies have purchased geological data packages for Bangladesh’s latest offshore oil and gas licensing round, though none has yet formally bought the tender documents.
The state hydrocarbons company Petrobangla launched the tender on May 24, offering 15 deepwater and 11 shallow-water blocks in the Bay of Bengal. The deadline for purchasing tender documents runs until November 30. Petrobangla said the tender had been promoted through Bangladeshi missions abroad and that invitations were emailed to 77 multinational companies.
The companies that bought data include the local representative of US-based Beringia Energy Global, Beringia Power Bangladesh; Singapore-listed KrisEnergy; Dhaka-based Peal Engineering and Construction; Japan’s Onoda Incorporated; and Norway’s Rystad Energy.
Petrobangla said an initial information package of geological data, block maps and related materials costs $100, while a full promotional package including seismic sections, gravity data, magnetic data and geological maps is priced at $7,000.
Relevant officials said the slow pace of document purchases reflected the fact that many international firms already held geological and geophysical data for the Bay of Bengal region and were analysing existing information before entering the process. Petrobangla remains optimistic because considerable time remains before the bid-submission deadline.
Petrobangla Director (Production Sharing Contract) Md Shoaib told Bonik Barta: “Five companies have bought data for offshore oil and gas exploration. We expect many more will buy data within the stipulated time, as there’s still plenty of time remaining.”
The round follows an international tender called in March 2024 by the previous and now-ousted Awami League government. Seven companies bought tender documents and two purchased data, but none submitted a bid during that round. Petrobangla said companies ultimately did not submit bids because of political conditions and other factors.
The interim government later formed a committee to examine why no company participated and introduced several amendments based on its recommendations.
Gas pricing was recently increased from 10 percent of Brent crude to 11 percent for deepwater blocks and 10.5 percent for shallow-water blocks. Under Model PSC 2019, the corresponding figures were $5.6 and $7.25. The welfare protection and productivity fee was also cut to 1.5 percent from 5 percent, and provisions relating to pipeline construction costs from deepwater fields to shore were revised.