The government has extended the PSC (production sharing contract) tenure for Jalalabad and Moulavi Bazar gas fields of Chevron Bangladesh by five years aiming to boost energy exploration by the US energy colossus.
The contract has a provision for extending the tenure by five more years.
But this extension did not yield any positive results as natural gas output from both the fields declined, a senior official of the state-run Petrobangla told the FE on Sunday.
Natural gas output from Chevron's remaining gas field - Bibiyana-also fell as well, he said.
Currently, three onshore fields operated by Chevron-Bibiyana, Jalalabad and Moulavi Bazar-produced around 1,360 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd), according to Petrobangla statistics as on July 13, 2019.
But these fields supplied around 1,506 mmcfd of natural gas three days ago, the data showed.
The accumulated natural gas output from all three onshore gas fields were 1,540 mmcfd on June 28, 2017, according to Petrobangla.
Officials said the energy corporation extended the PSC tenure of Jalalabad and Moulavi Bazar gas fields under block 13 and 14 by five years to 2029, originally scheduled for 2024.
The contract could be further extended until 2034, he said.
With this PSC extension, the tenure of all the three Chevron-operated onshore gas fields, including the Bibiyana, would expire in 2034, Petroabngla officials said.
Petrobangla extended the PSC tenures of the Chevron's blocks as the US's oil and gas major decided to stay in the country in October 2017 canceling its previous decision to selling off its stakes to a third party.
Chevron then assured the government of investing around US$400 million afresh for oil and gas exploration and development, they said.
It also had planned to build two compressor stations at Bibiyana and Jalalabad gas fields respectively to ramp up natural gas output from the country's northeastern region.
"But Chevron is yet to make any proposal to Petrobangla for any investment in its gas fields," said the Petrobangla official on Sunday.
Sources said Chevron's decision to exit Bangladesh had followed the government's rejection of the company's request in 2015 to hike gas prices for Bibiyana, forcing it to withdraw its plans to invest an additional $650 million in the assets.
Chevron currently gets $2.76 per Mcf (1,000 cubic feet) for the Bibiyana gas.
The company was looking for opportunity for annual tariff hike to ensure the financial viability of additional gas production from the field.
The company had also submitted an investment plan worth $650 million to Petrobangla to install a new compression station at the Bibiyana field and drill more wells at the nearby Jalalabad field.
But the PSCs do not allow international oil companies (IOCs) operating in Bangladesh to hike tariff annually.
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