TDS Desk:

The interim government has decided against the proceeding with gas extraction and supply agreements with four foreign companies.

The companies are- India’s H Energy, Russia’s Gazprom, China’s Sinopec, and Uzbekistan’s Ariel, according to Energy and Mineral Resources Division officials.

Previous Awami League government selected these companies to make deals for gas extraction and supply, which had been developed and were nearing completion.

The officials said that the contracts will not be signed since the Quick Energy Supply Act, under which they were being processed, has been repealed by the interim government.

The present government will review the agreements and proceed with those it considers necessary, they added.

“The contracts will be awarded to interested companies through an open tender process,” Energy Secretary Md Nurul Alam said.

According to Energy Division officials, the agreements with Russia’s Gazprom to drill five gas wells in Bhola, with H Energy to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) via pipeline from India, and with Dipon Gas, a Bangladesh-based company, to build a pipeline from Bhomra to Khulna to supply the imported LNG were nearly finalised.

Additionally, discussions were ongoing with China’s Sinopec to drill five gas wells in Sylhet and with Uzbekistan’s Ariel to drill six wells and perform a workover on another.

Plans were underway to work on 17 onshore wells with Gazprom, Sinopec, and Ariel, and the Energy Division was in the final stages of approving the proposals after reviewing their financial details, they added.

Agreements under questions

Gazprom has drilled 20 wells in Bangladesh, including seven in Bhola under the Quick Energy Supply Act. The Russian company is currently drilling four more wells in Bhola under the same act. The Hasina government had planned to award them the contract to drill five additional wells in Bhola using the same approach.

Of the five wells, one is an exploration well and the remaining four are development wells. Gazprom proposed a budget of $120 million for the project. The Energy Division and Gazprom were negotiating this cost.

The deal with India’s H Energy Limited involved importing 0.8 to 1 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) of LNG to Bangladesh. After nearly four years of discussions, the agreement was in its final stages. The LNG was intended to be supplied to the power plants in Khulna and western regions of the country.

An official from Petrobangla, speaking on condition of anonymity, said discussions were ongoing with a company called Dipon Gas to establish a 65 km pipeline from Satkhira to Khulna for importing LNG from India.

Dipon Gas is a Bangladesh-based company with operations in India and Singapore, according to its website. The company has previously worked on installing the pipeline for importing fuel oil from Numaligarh in India and was involved in the construction of Excelerate Energy’s LNG terminal and pipeline at Maheshkhali.

Discussions were also ongoing with the Chinese company Sinopec regarding the drilling of five wells under Sylhet Gas Fields Company Limited. The wells include Rashidpur-11 and 13, Kailash Tila-9, Dupi Tila-1, and the only development well, Sylhet-11. These projects were estimated to cost around Tk1,200 crore.

Meanwhile, Uzbek company Ariel was in the final stages of negotiations to drill seven wells under Bangladesh Gas Fields Company Limited across various districts. The Energy Division had completed the evaluation of Ariel’s proposal to drill and renovate these wells. The proposal included drilling four new wells and performing workovers on three existing ones, with a proposed cost of $131 million.