2 IOCs to Get 3 Shallow-sea Blocks without Competiion

[eastwatch]

2 IOCs to get 3 shallow-sea blocks without competition

2 IOCs to get 3 shallow-sea blocks without competition
Staff Correspondent

Two international oil companies are likely to get three out of the nine shallow-sea blocks for oil and gas exploration under the production sharing contract 2012, officials said.

The state-run Oil, Gas and Mineral Resources Corporation or Petrobangla, on Tuesday afternoon open three bids — one from US firm ConocoPhillips and two from Indian state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation — for the three hydrocarbon blocks in the Bay of Bengal, they said.

Md Imad Uddin, director (PSC) of Petrobangla, briefed reporters after opening the bids in the presence of the corporation’s chairman Hossain Monsur. Asked about poor participation in the offshore bidding, Monsur did not say anything. Imad, however, said that it was not ‘so bad’ as they had expected bids for exploration in four to five blocks. The offers they had received
from the two companies were ‘good.’

Fourteen IOCs bought schedules to take part in the bidding for exploration in 12 offshore blocks — nine in the shallow sea and three in the deep sea. The shallow-sea blocks are 2, 3, 4, and 6 to 11 and deep-sea blocks are 12, 16, and 21.

Petrobangla is yet to set a deadline for bid submission for exploration in the three deep-sea blocks as it has decided to amend the production sharing contract to ‘attract’ international oil companies.

According to the summary of the bid proposals, the ONGC submitted bids for exploration in shallow-sea block 4 and 9. The ONGC is the first Indian firm likely to be given two blocks for exploration in the Bangladesh territory.

Conoco submitted the bid for exploration in shallow-sea block 7, near deep-sea block 11 where, in addition to deap-sea block 10, Conoco is conducting exploration work under PSC 2008.

Imad said that the ONGC had proposed to conduct 2,700 line-kilometre two dimensional seismic survey and 200 square kilometre three dimensional seismic survey over shallow-sea block 4 and would drill two wells in eight years. The Indian oil firm will invest $58 million in the job.
The ONGC also proposed to conduct 2,847 line-kilometre two dimensional seismic survey and 300 square kilometre three dimensional seismic survey over the shallow sea block 09 and would drill three wells in eight years with $58 million investment.

Conoco proposed to conduct 2,350 line-kilometre two dimensional seismic survey and 500 square kilometre three dimensional seismic survey over shallow-sea block 7 and would drill one well in eight years with a $40 investment.

All the IOCs will give bank guarantees, ‘almost’ equal to their investment, Imad said.
Petrobangla on December 17, 2012 floated the international tender for oil and gas exploration in the Bay of Bengal.

Petrobangla is expecting to sign contracts with the IOCs by mid-July after government approval.

 

[idune]

And before bidding Awami League regime made sure Bangladeshi Bapex can not participate in the bid and indian company ONGC gets free hand.

Bapex barred as offshore bidding begins Dec 9

Lack of the needed policy framework, disqualified state-run Bapex from participating in the next bidding for offshore blocks as Petrobangla is getting ready to float tenders inviting bids for oil and gas blocks in the Bay of Bengal on Sunday, officials said.

In the absence of the policy framework, Bapex would not be able to bid for the oil and gas blocks in the Bay of Bengal in partnership with an international oil company, they said.

In other words, they said, Bapex would not be able to take advantage of a new provision, the government recently incorporated in its ‘Model Production Sharing Contract’ to allow the state- run enterprise to take an IOC as a joint-venture partner and bid for offshore oil and gas exploration and production, officials said.

Asked why Bapex failed to get a joint-venture partner needed to participate in the next bidding for offshore blocks, its managing director Mortuza Ahmad Faruque told New Age, the policy framework needed is not in place as yet.

Bapex barred as offshore bidding begins Dec 9

 

[eastwatch]

Allowing BAPEX, a company without knowledge and experience to conduct off-shore drillings, to do deep or shallow water drilling would be like asking an inexperienced Mr. Rana, the Rana Plaza Owner, to construct or design the Padma Bridge. It has been a wise decision by the PetroBangla to introduce a system whereby an inexperienced company ties up with another company that has already earned experience in the field. The new company will be qualified to bid in the next projects because it will earn the needed experience by that time. This is how important jobs are handled or allocated in the developed western world.

 

[idune]

Allowing BAPEX, a company without knowledge and experience to conduct off-shore drillings, to do deep or shallow water drilling would be like asking an inexperienced Mr. Rana, the Rana Plaza Owner, to construct or design the Padma Bridge. It has been a wise decision by the PetroBangla to introduce a system whereby an inexperienced company ties up with another company that has already earned experience in the field. The new company will be qualified to bid in the next projects because it will earn the needed experience by that time. This is how important jobs are handled or allocated in the developed western world.

In the world of oil and & gas exploration, less experience entity partner with a experienced entity. In BAPEX case it could very easily partnered with another company and get greater share for people of Bangladesh and gained valuable experience in offshore exploration in the process. BUT Petrobangla kept that policy framework vacuum so that BAPEX disqualified in the bidding process. Nifty Awami trick only against Bangladesh interest.

 

[Lone]

Allowing BAPEX, a company without knowledge and experience to conduct off-shore drillings, to do deep or shallow water drilling would be like asking an inexperienced Mr. Rana, the Rana Plaza Owner, to construct or design the Padma Bridge. It has been a wise decision by the PetroBangla to introduce a system whereby an inexperienced company ties up with another company that has already earned experience in the field. The new company will be qualified to bid in the next projects because it will earn the needed experience by that time. This is how important jobs are handled or allocated in the developed western world.

To get that experience bapex should team up with the company that is given the drilling contract. If Bapex is barred, how can it will gain experience ever??

 

[eastwatch]

To get that experience bapex should team up with the company that is given the drilling contract. If Bapex is barred, how can it will gain experience ever??

If a company wins a bidding, it has no obligation to take BAPEX as its partner. However, a partnership is possible when it is not a bidding but a selection of a JV company by the PetroBangla/Govt after hard negotiation. However, PetroBangla itself cannot arrange a JV, it is up to the BAPEX executives. A JV company may not be realized if the western company finds that BAPEX lacks funds, technology or equipment. Practically speaking, BAPEX may lack all these components.

 

[Lone]

If a company wins a bidding, it has no obligation to take BAPEX as its partner. However, a partnership is possible when it is not a bidding but a selection of a JV company by the PetroBangla/Govt after hard negotiation. However, PetroBangla itself cannot arrange a JV, it is up to the BAPEX executives. A JV company may not be realized if the western company finds that BAPEX lacks funds, technology or equipment. Practically speaking, BAPEX may lack all these components.

Are u crazy? Just impose the condition on bidding that BApex should be the partner and its solved. Thats how indian and many other did to get experience.

 

[eastwatch]

Are u crazy? Just impose the condition on bidding that BApex should be the partner and its solved. Thats how indian and many other did to get experience.

No, I am quite sane. In order to qualify BAPEX in the future, PetroBangla may allocate one small sea block to it now without a bidding on condition that it drills that block with support from another experienced and reliable international company. This will allow BAPEX to gain experience as an off-shore driller, which, in turn will allow it to get short-listed in a future bidding for off-shore blocks.

On the other hand, PetroBangla can also kick out all the bidders now from the holy land of BD and allocate all the blocks to BAPEX, because it seems it is quite popular with posters here.