To intensify oil and gas exploration activities in the Bay of Bengal, the Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation is going to invite international tenders for a total of 26 blocks in deep and shallow waters tomorrow, Sunday. The deadline for submitting tenders has been set for November 30.

Relevant sources from the Energy Division and Petrobangla have informed that the tender notice will be published on Petrobangla’s website after 12:00 AM on Saturday. Additionally, it will be published in eight national dailies in the country.

To attract foreign investors, initiatives have been taken for promotional campaigns at home and abroad, press conferences, roadshows, and communication with various embassies. Interested foreign companies will be able to participate in the tender process by collecting offshore survey and technical data. To provide details on this matter, a press conference has been organized at the initiative of the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources at the Secretariat at 2:30 PM on Sunday. Details regarding the new production sharing contract and the tender process will be presented there.

Despite more than a decade passing since the maritime boundary settlement, Bangladesh has not been able to achieve significant progress in oil and gas exploration in the Bay of Bengal. On the other hand, while neighboring India, Pakistan, and Myanmar have advanced in offshore energy resource exploration, Bangladesh has been waiting for its desired success for a long time.

Earlier, in the tender invited for offshore oil and gas exploration in 2024, seven foreign multinational companies collected documents, but ultimately none submitted proposals. However, stakeholders have informed that several significant changes have been introduced in the revised production sharing contract this time.

Under the new system, companies will not have to relinquish 50 percent of the area during the exploration phase as before; instead, relinquishing 20 percent of the area will suffice. Alongside this, the profit share allocated to the workers’ welfare fund has been reduced from 5 percent to 1.5 percent.

Changes have also been made to the gas pricing mechanism. Previously, prices were determined based on the price of high-sulfur fuel oil, but now they will be pegged to the price of Brent crude oil. According to the new framework, the price of deep-sea gas will be set at a maximum of 11 percent of the three-month average Brent price. This decision was taken considering the increase in fuel prices in the international market and the pressure of importing expensive liquefied natural gas.

According to Petrobangla sources, there are 15 blocks in the deep sea and 11 blocks in the shallow sea within Bangladesh’s portion of the Bay of Bengal. In the past, a few foreign companies started working in this sector but ceased operations for various reasons. In 2010, a US company began exploration in two deep-sea blocks but withdrew when its demand for a gas price hike was not met. Similarly, two companies from Australia and South Korea also cancelled their contracts and shut down operations. Later, in 2019, an Indian company commenced exploration and drilled a well but found no trace of gas. The company wound up operations before drilling a second well.

The government is hopeful that a positive response will be received from international companies this time due to the revised terms. It is reported that two major multinational energy companies from the United States have already shown interest. In the context of geopolitical instability in the Middle East, international companies are looking for new potential investment avenues, and as a result, relevant officials believe that Bangladesh’s offshore energy sector may become attractive to them.