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Bangladesh’s claim to Myanmar gas rejected

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Bangladesh’s claim to Myanmar gas rejected

Bangladesh’s claim to Myanmar gas rejected - Indian Express

Amitav Ranjan : New Delhi, Thu Apr 26 2012, 00:23 hrs

India has escaped a standoff — a repeat of the South China Sea squabble — with neighbouring Bangladesh following a ruling by International Tribunal for Law of the Sea (ITLOS) that India’s natural gas assets in Myanmar were outside Dhaka’s maritime limits.

Clarifying the ITLOS ruling on water boundary between Myanmar and Bangladesh, the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) has informed that blocks A1 and A3 would “remain within Myanmar side”. The blocks collectively hold about 6 trillion cubic feet of discovered gas and state-run Indian firms hold 25.5 per cent equity in each.

Bangladesh had contested the coordinates of A1 and other blocks, and floated in February 2008 an exploration tender that included a portion of A1. It had included Myanmar’s blocks AD7 to AD10 and portions of AD1 to AD6, and handed a contract for their seismic survey to China National Petroleum Corp.

The claims resulted in strained relations between the two countries with a standoff in October 2008 when survey ships of A1 and A3 operator Daewoo International were forced to withdraw from close to St Martin’s Island after Dhaka dispatched its naval forces.

The oil and gas fields map prepared by Myanmar following ITLOS’ March 14 verdict shows that almost all of its offshore blocks had been excluded from Bangladesh.

“As such, the ITLOS’ verdict would have little impact on Myanmar’s offshore energy resources,” said the RAW report.

Gas reserves in A1’s Shwe and Shwe Phyu fields are estimated at 3.83 trillion cubic feet while that in A3’s Mya field is 1.52 TCF. Both blocks are under development and gas production of 200 million standard cubic metres per day is expected to commence from May 2013.

ONGC Videsh Ltd holds 17 per cent equity and GAIL India Ltd 8.5 per cent in each of A1 and A3 blocks.

Dhaka moved ITLOS with the provisions of UN Convention on the Law of the Sea for international arbitration after Myanmar claimed 17 and India 10 out of the 28 blocks that Bangladesh had announced for exploration.

It dragged both neighbours to different international tribunals in 2009, seeking delimitation of its maritime boundaries through and beyond the continental shelf extending 200 nautical miles into the gas and mineral rich Bay of Bengal.

Gas blocks of Myanmar ....

MPRL-EP-Strikes-Gas-at-Block-A6-Offshore-Myanmar.jpg


Bangladesh's gas blocks up to the black lines...

blockss.jpg


Now my question why it is necessary to poke nose of RAW into this matter. Does it really need to be genius to find it out which are the blocks is within Bangladesh and outside Bangladesh...

But 6 trillion cft is a huge number ... n is now out of Bangladesh's control ... :S
 
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So which blocks belong to us after he ruling??
 
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So which blocks belong to us after he ruling??

Designated block names are different for Bangladesh and Myanmar. If you take into account of the 2 above picture and draw the black line of the second pictures into the 1st one then it is likely to go through AD-7, AD-8, AD-9, AD-13, AD-14 partially in each cases from my observation. So A1 and A3 will remain out of Bangladesh's control ... :(
 
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Bangladesh’s claim to Myanmar gas rejected
Now my question why it is necessary to poke nose of RAW into this matter. Does it really need to be genius to find it out which are the blocks is within Bangladesh and outside Bangladesh...
Simple! Because BD is incapable or incompetent of doing what they are supposed to be doing!

Elementary, Dr Watson! :P
 
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Bangladesh never claimed A1 and A2 block in ITLOS stupids.
 
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There is no provision for dispute any more, regardless of who gets gas. It was never ours to begin with. We should be happy with what we have and explore gas in our portion of EEZ.
 
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Here the core of the report says about escaping of Indian oil/gas interests from being owned and controlled by Bangladesh. Had a part of the blocks where India has stake fallen under Dhaka's jurisdiction by the UN ruling, India would have fallen victim. This report only expresses gratification that it did not happen the way India was fearing.

Considering what was happening in the past, it can be said that Burma was unlawfully controlling much of the seas that has fallen now our under jurisdiction. Burma was unable to drill for oil, but it did not allow our fishing trollers in seas that now belong to us.

Anyway, the UN verdict has opened tremendous opportunity for BD, may be it is oil, gas, fishing or just navigation. Issue here is much of the seas that Burma had claimed and was controlling now BELONG to us. It is a question of belonging and a sense of oneness with our part of BoB for ever.
 
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