BAPEX gets lukewarm response to its tender for buying rig

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M Azizur Rahman
State-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd (BAPEX) has received lukewarm response to its tender for purchase of a rig for drilling gas wells.
"Only two foreign companies, both Chinese, submitted their bid documents to supply the rig to the BAPEX within the stipulated time that expired July 16 last," a senior Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD official told the FE.
The two Chinese firms quoted prices at Tk 1.80 billion and Tk 1.45 billion for supplying the rig, he said.
Evaluation of the tender documents will be completed soon, said the official.
A total of nine foreign companies, including two from the United States and one from Germany purchased the bidding documents from the BAPEX, but seven of them refrained from submitting bid documents.
The BAPEX has intended to purchase an AC-AC type land drilling rig and accessories with a capacity to drill up to 5,000 metres of depth for oil and gas oil search on a turnkey basis from a reputed international manufacturer or a supplier aiming to strengthen its hydrocarbon exploration activities across the country.
Currently, the BAPEX and the Bangladesh Gas Fields Ltd (BGFL) have one land drilling rig each. The two rigs were purchased in 1982 and 1986 respectively.
The BAPEX took initiative to purchase its second land drilling rig in 1998, but it was not materialised due to fund constraint and bureaucratic tangle, it is alleged.
Initially, the BAPEX had proposed the Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD) to purchase a rig at a cost of Tk 820 million.
Instead of providing fund from its own coffer, the government was looking for foreign assistance to finance the purchase of the rig.
Failing to obtain overseas fund, the government in 2003 approved the BAPEX proposal on purchase of the rig at the cost of Tk 820 million and subsequently floated a tender, a senior EMRD official said.