ITLOS verdict reaffirms Myanmar's rights over disputed gas blocks with Bangladesh

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Nizam Ahmed
The recent verdict of the International Tribunal for Law of the Sea (ITLOS) has reaffirmed both Bangladesh's rights over its exclusive economic zone in the Bay of Bengal and Myanmar's sovereignty over its offshore gas fields for which the former had a dispute with the latter some four years ago, experts and officials said on Thursday.
The gas fields for which Bangladesh sent its naval ships in October 2008, are now excluded from the economic zone of Bangladesh in the Bay of Bengal, according to a fresh demarcation of gas blocks by the government of Myanmar, they said.
The Myanmar authorities have recently demarcated its offshore and deep-sea gas blocks anew, following the verdict of ITLOS of the United Nations, experts pointed out.
However, Bangladesh's state-owned hydrocarbon exploration wing, Petrobangla, under the ministry of power, energy and mineral resources is yet to complete works for re-demarcation of the offshore and deep-sea gas blocks.
"The re-demarcation of gas blocks in the sea is yet to be completed as the relevant committees and ministries including those of defence, foreign affairs and power and energy are yet to complete their series of sittings in this regard," a senior official of the Petrobangla told the FE.
The ITLOS, in its verdict announced on March 14, acknowledged Bangladesh's claims to a full 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone in the Bay of Bengal, and a large portion of the outer continental shelf beyond 200 miles, the officials of the ministry of foreign affairs said.
According to the new gas blocks demarcated by Myanmar following the ITLOS verdict, the two blocks for which Bangladesh disputed in 2008, have been placed under the water territory of Myanmar, energy officials working with international oil companies (IOC) in Dhaka said
"The two blocks, close to Bangladesh's offshore island, the Saint's Martin, have some 6.0 trillion cubic feet of gas," an IOC expert told the FE.
Had Bangladesh won these two blocks, it could hope to explore a large deposit of gas within the shortest possible time and at a minimum expense of fund, the experts said.
Bangladesh now needs extraction of natural gas from the new field desperately as it faces a shortage of nearly 500 million cubic feet (mmcft). The country now produces a little over 2.0 billion cubic feet (bcft) against its requirement for some 2.5 bcft, Petrobangla officials said.
Exploration in the deep-sea block is always costly and time consuming, the experts said.
The dispute over the off-shore gas blocks between the two countries turned into a serious standoff when Bangladesh sent its naval ships to compel the South Korean firm Daewoo International to withdraw its operations in October 2009.
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.
UNB adds: Clarifying the ITLOS ruling on water boundary between Myanmar and Bangladesh, the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) of India has informed that blocks A1 and A3 would "remain within Myanmar side", reports The Indian Express.
The report says the blocks collectively hold about 6.0 trillion cubic feet of discovered gas and state-run Indian firms hold 25.5 per cent equity in each.