Dhaka Times Report. Petrobangla is preparing to call international tenders or bidding round-2012 in July for 14 blocks of shallow and deep sea due to the settlement of the 38-year maritime boundary dispute with Myanmar.
A senior official of the concerned department said that the top officials of the energy department will meet to decide on how many blocks the international tender will be called for. He said that due to the settlement of the dispute with Myanmar, 4 bucks have been freed in the eastern part of Bangladesh for the time being. A certified copy of the judgment can be confirmed.
Senior officials of the Energy Department and Petrobangla said that after the decision on the sea boundary, there is no obstacle in the exploration of oil and gas in the 4 blocks of the deep sea in the northern part of Bangladesh. These are DS (Deep C) 08-12, DS-08-13, DS-08-17 and DS-08-18 blocks, except for part of the blocks, there is no obstruction anywhere in this part. Petrobangla Director (PSC-Production Sharing Contracts) Mohammad Imaduddin said regarding the release of new bucks due to dispute settlement, out of the 4 blocks in the deep sea, the other three are totally free except one partially. But it can be confirmed only after receiving the certified copy of the verdict. He also said that as a result of this verdict, there is no obstacle to search in the southern part of Saint Martin in Bangladesh. Apart from this, the present maritime boundary also needs to be changed. For this reason we are thinking of doing bidding rounds for shallow sea as well as deep sea blocks. But for this, the instructions of the higher authorities will be required.
Apart from these four blocks of deep sea, existing 6 blocks of shallow sea will be divided into 10 blocks. These are - Block 17 and 18 broken into three; Block No. 19, 20 and 21 were broken into 6 and No. 16 was broken. Each block will have an area of 15,000 to 16,000 square kilometers. Several officials said that bidding round-2012 will be called for a total of 10 blocks. Petrobangla Chairman Prof. Dr. Hossain Mansoor said in this context, we are now thinking about the deep sea block within the bidding round-2012. Hope to be called for deep sea also. But all will be after getting certified copy of judgment. He also said that due to the non-resolution of the dispute with India, we will soon discuss with the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of External Affairs to decide whether to invite tenders for gas exploration in the deep sea. Recently, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLS) in Hamburg, Germany, in a judgment, got the right to exclusive economic zone from the coast of Bangladesh up to 200 nautical miles of the Bay of Bengal. Apart from this, the absolute and sovereign rights of Bangladesh in the marine resources beyond the Mahisopan beyond 200 nautical miles have been confirmed. The 151-page ruling, approved by a 21-1 vote in ITLS, was read out by ITLS President Jose Luis Jesus. The verdict finally determined the long-unsettled border between Bangladesh and Myanmar in the oil-and-gas-rich Bay of Bengal. At the same time, the more than three-decade-long dispute between the two close neighbors over the delimitation of the Bay of Bengal was also resolved. The arbitral tribunal delivered its verdict on the maritime boundary dispute in a little more than two years. After 38 years of bilateral negotiations without any fruitful solution, Bangladesh initiated legal proceedings against Myanmar on October 8, 2009. The judgment of the tribunal is final. No appeal shall be made.
It is learned that no export provisions have been made in the draft production-distribution agreement prepared for the bidding round-2012. Besides, provision has been made to pay the price of gas according to BTU (British Thermal Unit). No previous PSC had set a maximum ceiling of BTUs. It has been mentioned in the news that the highest ceiling of BTU has been fixed in the new PSC. Data source: Dainik Yugantar.
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