3 deepwater gas blocks on offer as fresh bidding kicks off today

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M Azizur Rahman
Bangladesh is offering three deepwater gas blocks, which the US-based ConocoPhillips intended to bid for, for gas exploration as a new round of bidding for offshore blocks is being launched today (Sunday), Petrobangla sources said.
The state-owned oil, gas and mineral wing Petrobangla mapped out parts of the deepwater gas blocks - DS-08-12, DS-08-16 and DS-08-21-to be bid for following settlement of a maritime boundary dispute with Myanmar, the sources further said.
It, however, did not include three other deepwater gas blocks-DS-08-17, DS-08-15 and DS-08-20-in the new bidding round, though the ConocoPhillips intended to bid for them also, over a maritime dispute with India.
The ConocoPhillips in March last sought rights to exploration of gas in the all six deepwater gas blocks, for which it had also been selected as the best bidder in 2008. But it had not been awarded the job, as Bangladesh then had been in the midst of maritime boundary disputes with neighbouring Myanmar and India.
However, Petrobangla will offer a total of 12 'dispute-free' offshore gas blocks, including the three in deepwater in the Bay of Bengal, for gas exploration in the new bidding round. Of the 12 blocks, nine are in shallow water and they are SS-02, SS-03, SS-04, SS-06, SS-07, SS-08, SS-09, SS-10 and SS-11.
Petrobangla will also offer two discovered shallow-water fields-at Kutubdia and Teknaf-under a special package for gas exploration in the new bidding round.
Kutubdia will be tagged with the SS-04 and Teknaf with the SS-10. The international oil companies (IOCs) which will get licence will have to explore the two fields.
Petrobangla is launching the bidding for only those blocks which have been cleared by the International Tribunal for Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in its verdict on March 14 last. In the verdict it settled the maritime boundary dispute with neighbouring Myanmar.
None of the disputed blocks, for which both Bangladesh and India stake their claims, would be offered for bidding this time, Petrobangla officials said.
Bangladesh has already given up claims on eight deepwater gas blocks-DS-08-13, DS-08-17, DS-08-18, DS-08-22, DS-08-23, DS-08-16, DS-08-27 and DS-08-28 - to Myanmar in line with the ITLOS verdict.
Earlier, Petrobangla had offered all these deepwater gas blocks for gas exploration by international oil companies (IOCs) in the previous 2008 offshore bidding round, the sources said.
In the new bidding round Petrobangla has excluded a total of 11 shallow and deepwater gas blocks for the offer for bidding due to a maritime boundary dispute with neighbouring India.
The blocks are - SS-01, SS-05, DS-09, DS-10, DS-11, DS-14, DS-15, DS-19, DS-20, DS-24 and DS-25.
The maritime boundary dispute between Bangladesh and India is now pending with the UN's Convention on the Law of the Sea. The verdict is expected in 2014.
During the previous offshore bidding in February 2008, Bangladesh had offered 28 blocks-20 in deepwater and eight in shallow water-for gas exploration. The response to the offer had been lukewarm because of Bangladesh's maritime boundary disputes then with both Myanmar and India.
The two countries had protested the 2008 bidding round and had contacted the IOCs to dissuade them from taking part in it.
As a result, Bangladesh could award only parts of two deepwater gas blocks-DS-08-10 and DS-08-11 -- to the ConocoPhillips, three years after launch of the bidding round, on June 16, 2011 following a series of meetings.