Petrobangla has formed a high-powered committee to pinpoint the actual reasons behind the international oil companies (IOCs) snubbing the much-anticipated offshore bidding round for which it floated a tender last March, initially with a 6-month deadline, that eventually got extended to 9 months, before expiring yesterday (Monday).   for hydrocarbon exploration in the country’s maritime territory in the Bay of Bengal. Engr. Md. Rafiqul Islam, Director with responsibility for the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) - that was modified specifically to make it more attractive to IOCs before the tender - has been made the head of the committee, according to Petrobangla Chairman Zanedra Nath Sarker. He said the committee will sit with the IOCs and try to learn the reasons as to why they have not submitted their bids in the bidding round that ended on Monday despite the fact that there were many expectations from the government about their participation. Bangladesh reduces blocked airline funds to $196: IATA After receiving the committee’s report, Petrobangla will forward all findings to the Energy and Mineral Resources Division for next steps, he added.    Meanwhile, Wood Mackenzie, the UK-based international firm, will now provide consultancy services to the Bangladesh Oil Gas and Minerals Corporation –Petrobangla to prepare necessary documents for onshore international gas block bidding. According to official sources, the board of directors of the Petrobangla in a meeting on Monday approved Wood Mackenzie’s offer in this regard. “Among the aspirant bidders for the job, the UK firm’s offer came out to the lowest one and was accepted by the board,” outgoing Petrobangla chairman Zanedra Nath Sarker told UNB. Sources within the PMO said Petrobangla will have to pay about $160,000 to Wood Mackenzie and the consultant will prepare the document within two months. Previously, the UK firm was engaged in preparing the offshore bidding documents as well, said the Petrobangla officials. Strong laws, robust taxation 'musts' for success in anti-tobacco campaign Wood Mackenzie Limited, also known as WoodMac, is a globally renowned consultancy for providing data and analysis in the energy sector. Its services include data, analytics, insight, events and consultancy across the renewables, energy and natural resources sectors. The Petrobangla chairman said the organisation has a plan to complete the preparation of the necessary documents and float international tender in the first quarter of the next year.   

Local companies now have the opportunity to collaborate with prospective international spot suppliers through joint ventures to ensure a steady supply of LNG to Petrobangla, fostering greater energy security and market participation. This change has been made this time in the tender floated by the Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Limited (RPGCL), the procuring agency and a subsidiary of the state procuring entity Bangladesh Oil, Gas & Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla). Excelerate Energy delivers two cargoes of LNG to Petrobangla “We have brought this change to create a business opportunity for the local firms,” Engr Md Rafiqul Islam, Managing Director of the RPGCL told UNB. Last time, he said, 43 international LNG suppliers submitted their Expression of Interest (EoI) and finally 22 companies got the chance to put them into the short list of the suppliers. Sources, however, said though 22 international companies were enlisted with the RPGCL short list, only 3 to 4 companies, who had allegedly business interest with the last Awami League regime, got the chance to by rotation to supply the LNG from international spot market to the Petrobangla.  Brunei offers to export 12-18 LNG cargoes annually to Bangladesh under 10-year contract “We hope this time many more international LNG suppliers will show interest to supply LNG from the spot market,” he added. As part of the move to make a fresh short list of international spot market LNG supply companies, the RPGCL floated an open tender on November 10 seeking EoI from aspirant suppliers. As per the tender notice, the aspirant LNG suppliers have to submit the EoIs by 12:30pm on December 1, 2024. Petrobangla in dilemma over fresh bidding process for cancelled LNG terminals in private sector Bangladesh has been importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the international spot market since 2019 to meet its growing gas demands. During the last regime of Awami League, initially, 17 companies were listed on the basis of the Speedy Increase of Power and Energy Supply Act 2010 and then 5 more companies were added to the list. From these companies, Petrobangla has been importing the LNG from the international spot market. But every time, it was seen that again and again a number of certain companies are getting contracts and dominating the business. These companies include Vitol Asia of Singapore, TotalEnergies of Switzerland, Excelerate Energy of the USA, and Gunvor Singapore. Of these, there are allegations; some of the companies had business interests with former ministers and state ministers of the fallen Awami League government and also some local business groups. After the fall of the Awami League government, when the interim government assumed office, it decided to suspend the Speedy Increase of Power and Energy Supply Act 2010 and instead import the LNG from the spot market under the Public Procurement Rule 2008. It also decided to scrap the list of the companies soon to bring transparency in the bulk import of LNG as the government has to spend more than a billion dollars to import the LNG. As part of the decision, finally the Petrobangla moves to prepare a fresh list of the interested companies through an open and transparent process. "We have decided once the new list of the companies is prepared, we will cancel the previous list of the 23 companies", said Zanendra Nath Sarker, the Petrobangla chairman. Energy industry insiders said that the new move will encourage more reputed international companies to supply LNG to Bangladesh from the international spot market. "This will also facilitate getting LNG at a much lower rate which will ultimately reduce the energy cost of the government", said an energy expert wishing anonymity. Bangladesh has been experiencing a huge gas crisis as it produces 3100 MMCFD Gas per day against a demand of about 4000 MMCFD. Of the total production of 3100 MMCFD, some 1100 MMCFD gas is being imported from abroad of which 150-200 MMCFD gas is imported from the spot market while remaining is imported from Qatar and Oman under long term contract. Petrebangla planned to import a total of 115 cargoes of LNG on a short and long term basis to meet the local gas demand.

Excelerate Energy, Inc. has announced that it has delivered two cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the month of November to Petrobangla through the company’s two floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) located offshore Moheshkhali Island. “Excelerate Energy is pleased to help fuel Bangladesh’s economy through its flexible infrastructure and the delivery of affordable LNG supply,” said Steven Kobos, President and Chief Executive Officer of Excelerate, in a statement on Sunday. “We are proud to have won this contract to provide LNG through an open and fair tender process where we offered the most competitive price,” he added. Excelerate Energy has operated LNG infrastructure in Bangladesh since 2018, in partnership with the International Finance Corporation. The Company’s FSRUs in the Bay of Bengal deliver approximately 34% of Bangladesh’s natural gas supply.  

Petrobangla – the Bangladesh Oil, Gas & Mineral Corporation – faces uncertainty about how to proceed with a new bidding process for establishing two private sector LNG terminals, recently cancelled by the interim government. Petrobangla officials revealed that they remain unclear about whether to follow the Public Procurement Rule (PPR) 2008 to invite a tender for the two projects or to consult the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) office for  implementation. Of the two cancelled projects, Petrobangla had signed a contract with Summit Group for one terminal, while a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) had been signed with the US-based Excelerate Energy for the other under the previous Awami League government. However, upon taking office, the interim government’s Adviser for the Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Ministry directed Petrobangla to cancel both projects.  The contracts had been awarded to private sponsors under the Speedy Increase of Power and Energy Supply (Special Provision) Act 2010 without any tender. These cancelled projects are in addition to two existing floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), commonly known as LNG terminals, located in Maheshkhali and established in the private sector under the same Special Provision Act of 2010, also without a tender process. The US-based Excelerate set up the first terminal in Moheshkhali in 2018, with a daily capacity of 600 million cubic feet (MMCFD) of gas.  Local firm Summit Group developed the second terminal in 2019, also in Moheshkhali, with a capacity of 500 MMCFD. Through these two terminals, Petrobangla has been supplying roughly 1,100 MMCFD of gas to the national grid by importing LNG from abroad. Read: Petrobangla to make a fresh short list of LNG suppliers of int'l spot market soon Bangladesh’s current daily gas production stands at about 3,100 MMCFD, including 1,100 MMCFD from imported LNG, against a demand of approximately 4,000 MMCFD. To address the rising demand, the previous Awami League government had initiated plans to set up two additional LNG terminals with similar capacities, awarding contracts to the same private sponsors, Excelerate Energy and Summit Group. Under these agreements, both Excelerate and Summit Group secured billion-dollar annual contracts to provide LNG regasification services.  However, following the departure of the previous government, the interim administration decided to cancel the projects, aiming to re-award them through a more transparent and competitive bidding process. Petrobangla subsequently encountered uncertainty in launching a fresh tender process for the two LNG terminal projects.  The issue lies in whether to proceed with the Public Procurement Rule (PPR) 2008 or to follow the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework. "We are still evaluating both legal frameworks to determine which one to follow," Petrobangla Chairman Zanendra Nath Sarker told UNB. “A renowned procurement expert is also assisting us in this matter,” he said.  Read more: Petrobangla to extend submission time for int'l offshore bidding by 3 months He mentioned that once the tender process is clarified, Petrobangla intends to release an open tender for the LNG terminal projects. The chairman acknowledged that Petrobangla faces difficulties since no previous project in the private sector has been implemented through an open tender.  

Petrobangla is going to make a fresh list of international spot market LNG supply companies through an open tender by next week. "The tender is ready for circulation in the media and hopefully the notice will be published in the first half of the next week", Petrobangla Chairman Zanendra Nath Sarker told UNB. He noted that this time an open tender will be floated to make a fresh list of the LNG suppliers through a transparent process. Bangladesh has been importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the international spot market since 2019 to meet its growing gas demands. To ensure a smooth supply, as per instruction of the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, the Petrobangla and its LNG handling subsidiary Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Limited (RPGCL) invited expressions of interest from the international companies to enlist them with the authorities concerned. Initially, 17 companies were listed on the basis of the Speedy Increase of Power and Energy Supply Act 2010 and then 5 more companies were added to the list. From these companies, Petrobangla has been importing the LNG from the international spot market. But every time, it was seen that again and again a number of certain companies are getting contracts and dominating the business. These companies include Vitol Asia of Singapore, TotalEnergies of Switzerland, Excelerate Energy of USA, and Gunvor Singapore. Read: Govt approves bulk imports of rice, wheat, sugar, LNG, fertiliser Of these, there are allegations; some of the companies had business interests with former ministers and state ministers of the fallen Awami League government and also some local business groups. After the fall of the Awami League government, when the interim government assumed office, it decided to suspend the Speedy Increase of Power and Energy Supply Act 2010 and instead import the LNG from the spot market under the Public Procurement Rule 2008. It also decided to scrap the list of the companies soon to bring transparency in the bulk import of LNG as the government has to spend more than a billion dollars to import the LNG. As part of the decision, finally the Petrobangla moves to prepare a fresh list of the interested companies through an open and transparent process. "We have decided once the new list of the companies is prepared, we will cancel the previous list of the 23 companies", said the Petrobangla. Energy industry insiders said that the new move will encourage more reputed international companies to supply LNG to Bangladesh from the international spot market. "This will also facilitate to get LNG at a much lower rate which will ultimately reduce the energy cost of the government", said an energy expert wishing anonymity. Bangladesh has been experiencing huge gas crisis as it produces 3100 MMCFD Gas per day against a demand of about 4000 MMCFD. Read more: Govt approves LNG and fertilizer import proposals Of the total production of 3100 MMCFD, some 1100 MMCFD gas is being imported from abroad of which 150-200 MMCFD gas is imported from the spot market while remaining is imported from Qatar and Oman under long term contract.

The government’s initiative to invite an open tender for the drilling of 26 wells across various onshore gas fields, aimed at boosting domestic gas production, is likely to face a delay of another month, according to official sources. The delay is primarily due to the ongoing preparation of tender documents, the sources indicated. Three gas exploration and production companies under the state-owned Bangladesh Minerals, Oil, and Gas Corporation, commonly known as Petrobangla – Sylhet Gas Fields Limited (SGFL), Bangladesh Gas Fields Company Limited (BGFCL), and Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (BAPEX) – were expected to float the tender by the second week of October. However, the companies were unable to do so as the documents were not finalised for publication in newspapers and on relevant government websites. Earlier, at a press briefing on October 3 at the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, Petrobangla chairman Zanendra Nath Sarker announced that he had sent a proposal to the ministry for approval and expected that the tender would be invited within a week of receiving the green light. Power and Energy Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, speaking at the same briefing, assured that the government would soon float an open tender to drill 26 wells in different gas fields to increase domestic gas production. He said that the government would refrain from awarding contracts on a G-to-G basis or signing unsolicited agreements with foreign companies. “This initiative aims to reduce our reliance on imported LNG, which is costly and drains foreign currency,” said the adviser. Read: Petrobangla now plans to invite int’l bidding for onshore blocks for hydrocarbon exploration: Chairman Regarding the delay, Fouzul Kabir told UNB that his ministry is seeking assistance from a procurement expert in preparing the tender documents, which has contributed to the time taken. Petrobangla chairman Zanendra Nath Sarker explained that, historically, documents for similar contracts were prepared under the Speedy Increase of Power and Energy Supply (Special Provision) Act 2010. "But this time, we must adhere to the Public Procurement Rules (PPR) 2008 to invite an open tender, which is causing the delay." He expressed optimism that SGFL could issue the tender within a week, while BGFCL and BAPEX may require the full month to be ready. At the October 3 briefing, the Energy Adviser also highlighted a government plan to drill 100 wells between 2025 and 2028. Of these, 69 will be exploration and development wells, while the remaining 31 will be work-over wells. BAPEX will drill 43 of the 69 exploration wells, while the remaining 26 wells will be outsourced to contractors via open tender. Read more: Sinopec, Halliburton launch spud drilling in onshore block-SS-04 BAPEX will use its own rigs to drill 33 wells across various gas fields, with another 10 wells set to be drilled using rented rigs. “We aim to fully utilise BAPEX’s capabilities,” the adviser told reporters.

With 7 percent system loss, the new management of the Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company PLC has been facing the biggest challenge in its service delivery. “Some 7 percent system loss means the organisation loses Tk 150-180 crore per month in revenue,” said Shahnewaz Parvez, the new managing director of the Titas Gas PLC. “It means, the state-owned gas distribution entity can save Tk 1800-2160 crore a year if such a huge system loss is checked,” he told UNB. Among the six gas distribution companies, Titas Gas has been the oldest and largest one both in terms of its operational area and volume of natural gas sales. As per the official statistics, the Titas Gas, invented in 1964, alone holds 55 percent of the gas market share while the other five companies have 45 percent. UCB signs MOU with Titas Gas to provide banking solutions Titas Gas supplies gas to over 2.878 million consumers, including some 2.853 million household consumers, 12,078 commercial consumers, 5,429 industrial consumers, 1,755 captive power plants, and 396 CNG stations. Its vast operational area covers Dhaka, Manikganj, Gazipur, Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Narsingdi and Mymensingh. It annually sells about 14,459.41 MMCM (million cubic meters) of gas (2021-23 fiscal year), to earn a revenue of TK 26,387.12 crore.           After the fall of the Awami League regime, the Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry also brought changes in Titas management as it was one of the ‘most corrupt’ organisations where the previous managing director Harunor Rashid Mollah was appointed on a contractual basis. There have been widespread allegations that Mollah was involved in various corruption schemes who gave a huge financial benefit to former state minister Nasrul Hamid to get his contractual appointment. Titas Gas faces assaults from local lawmakers' supporters when removing illegal gas connections: Titas MD One of the major allegations against the old management was that Mollah did not take adequate actions against the illegal connections which ultimately increased the system loss of Titas Gas from 2 percent in 2021-22 to 7 percent in 2024-25 fiscal years. Upon assuming office as Managing Director, Shahnewaz Parvez, who previously served as the Managing Director of GTCL, another Petrobangla company, took action against illegal gas connections. Within one month, he said, itas Gas had disconnected over 4,000 household connections and more than 90 industrial connections, primarily in Keraniganj, Narayanganj, Munshiganj and Rupganj. Official sources said Keraniganj was the parliamentary constituency of former state minister for power and energy Nasrul Hamid where the most illegal connections were found. Titas Gas officials said the mainly politically influential persons, especially the local MPs of the ruling party, were the main promoters of the illegal gas connections. As a result, on many occasions, the Titas Gas officials came under attacks from the ruling party men when they conducted operations against the illegal gas connections at different areas. Shahnewaz said Titas Gas has to lose revenue of over Tk 5 crore a day due to illegal gas connections. “So, it’s now our top priority to disconnect all illegal connections and remove the illegal gas pipelines,” he said, adding, if illegal connections are snapped it will play a good role to improve gas supply to many areas. Petrobangla, Titas dismiss news on new gas connections as “baseless rumor”

Petrobangla and its subordinate body, Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company, have strongly refuted recent claims circulating in the media and social platforms about new gas connections and increased gas supply to residential households, labeling the news as “baseless and a rumor.” In separate press releases, they clarified that, as per government policy, new gas connections and increases in sanctioned gas load for residential use remain suspended. The news published in some media outlets or on social media about new gas connections or load increases for households is completely false and unfounded, they said. Read: Govt to float open tender to drill 26 wells in gas fields soon: Energy Adviser Both Petrobangla and Titas Gas also warned the public to stay vigilant, noting that fraudsters are misleading citizens with false claims. They advised the public not to fall victim to such misinformation. The organizations emphasized that the official stance on residential gas connections has not changed and urged people to verify any information from credible sources before taking any action. Read more: Negligence in gas exploration creates current energy crisis: Speakers

State-owned oil, gas and minerals corporation Petrobangla seeks to complete the drilling of a total of 48 wells at different gas fields hoping to add 618 MMCFD to national grid by 2025. This will be done through Petrobangla's own companies and outsourcing of contractors by next year. "We're very serious about implementing the plan on time and if necessary, we will seek a waiver from the provision of a mandatory feasibility study to avoid a time consuming process", said a top official of the Petrobangla. The official preferred anonymity as he is not authorised to talk to media. The plan is to add a total of 618 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) gas to the national grid when power, industries as well as many other sectors are reeling from gas shortage. Read more: Action against officials of Petrobangla companies if fail to achieve target: Nasrul According to an official document, obtained by UNB, of the planned 48 wells, 23 will be drilled using the rigs of the Bapex (Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited) while the remaining 25 will be done by the outsourcing of the contractors at the existing onshore gas fields under a crash programme. "These wells will be drilled as part of the government's ongoing plan to increase the gas production from the local gas fields ", another top official of the Petrobangla told UNB, also wishing anonymity. He, however, declined to comment officially as some of the wells' approval process still remains pending with the government's highest authority. Sources said Petrobangla took up the programme against the backdrop of the declining gas production with depleting reserve positions. The country's 20 gas fields, out of total 29, produce between 1,600 and 1,900 MMCFD gas while another 1000 MMCFD gas is being imported to meet the demand for about 4000 MMCFD. Read more: Petrobangla invites offshore bidding for oil, gas exploration Officials said the local fields are depleting fast and gas reserves are declining. Currently there is 9 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas in the country's reserve, out of a total of 30 TCF while 21 TCF has already been produced. The gas demand is growing fast as many of the gas-fired power plants and new industries are being set up across the country. As per a scenario -2 of a projection of the Petrobangla, the country's gas demand will go up to 5,092 MMCFD in 2029-30, 6072 MMCFD in 2034-35 and 6,986 in 2040-41. Actually, the plan for drilling 48 wells is a part of the ongoing plan under which drilling of a number of wells has already been completed, said another official of Petrobangla. Read more: Petrobangla now plans to invite int’l bidding for onshore blocks for hydrocarbon exploration: Chairman These wells include Bhola North-2, Togbi-1, Elisha-1, Srikail North-1, Shariatpur-1, Titas-24, Beanibazar-1, Koilash Tila-2, Sylhet-10, Rashidpur-2, and Sundalpur-3. These newly drilled wells have now been contributing 126 MMCFD gas to the national grid, noted the official.

Prime Minister’s Energy Advisor Dr Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury has said that the international bidding for offshore oil and gas exploration will draw a huge response. “This round, we have introduced some new aspects like linking gas price with Brent and per year cost recovery at highest 75 percent to make the bidding more attractive,” he told reporters at a press conference at Petrobangla headquarters in Dhaka on Monday. The Energy and Mineral Resources Division organised the press conference to brief about the “Oil and Natural Gas Exploration Under Bangladesh Offshore Bidding Round 2024”, for which Petrobangla invited international oil and gas companies (IOCs). Intensify efforts to scale up renewable energy technology: Energy Advisor State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, Energy Secretary Md Nurul Alam and Petrobangla chairman Zanendra Nath Sarker also addressed the event. The tender notice was published in local newspapers and websites of concerned government entities including Bangladeshi missions abroad on Sunday giving six months’ time until September 9, 2024 for submission of the bids. As per the floated tender, a total of 24 offshore blocks — of which nine are shallow blocks — and 15 deep sea blocks are available for the bidding round. The nine shallow sea blocks are SS-01, 02, 03, 05, 06, 07, 08, 10 and 11) and 15 deep sea blocks are DS-08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22. Gov wants AIIB to invest more in energy, power sectors: Nasrul The bidder, singly or in association with other companies, can bid for one or more blocks. Contracts will be signed with the successful bidders in line with the Bangladesh Offshore Model Production Sharing Contract 2023, said the tender. Tawfiq Elahi Chowdhury informed that so far, the bidding invitation was sent to 55 IOCs who have contacted the government as potential bidders. He, however, averted a question on the geopolitics that might appear to be a factor in the participation of the IOCs in the bidding round. Nasrul Hamid said it’s an open bidding and any company eligible can bid for any block. He said a pre-bid meeting will be arranged after Ramadan for the interested bidders. Read more: Petrobangla invites offshore bidding for oil, gas exploration