Petrobangla in dark about Sangu stake sale of Cairn

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Petrobangla is not aware of the sale of Scottish company Cairn Energy's 37.5 per cent stake in the country's lone offshore Sangu gas field to Australian company Santos, the state-run oil and gas company's chief said Saturday. Santos in a letter to Australia Stock Exchange said Friday it had bought all businesses of Cairn Energy Bangladesh. The company said it paid $50 million in the first installment and would pay $20 million if gas was found at Monpura and Hatia.
"We do not know about the sale of Cairn's share in Sangu gas field. We had information that Cairn was looking for a partner. We also knew that they had been in talks with Santos," Petrobangla chairman Jalal Ahmed told bdnews24.com by phone.
"The agreement between Cairn and Santos is their internal matter. However, to implement the agreement they have to take Petrobangla's approval."
Member secretary of the Oil, Gas, Electricity and Port Protection National Committee Anu Muhammad told the news agency: "It is one of the issues we have been highlighting-the way the mineral resources agreements are signed with foreigners is not transparent."
"These are people's resources. We have been demanding for long to inform people about the conditions the agreements were signed on."
He said: "Different international firms are selling our resources. We do not know how it is happening. We do not know whether the government is monitoring the matter. Occidental was sold to Unocal without settling the issue of compensation for Magurchhara blowout. Petrobangla says they know nothing."
Anu Muhammad said: "The gas fields and oilfields have been sold this way since 1994. A huge amount of profit is being earned. We want clear details on the agreements."
Santos managing director John Illice-Flint in a message said: "This new country entry is every attractive for Santos and provides exposure to material exploration upside in a proven prolific hydrocarbon province."
Santos has made big investment in India among South Asian countries and is also working in other Asian countries, the Middle East and Australia.
Gas output in the country's lone sea gas field Sangu in the block No. 16, managed by Cairn, had seriously been disrupted. Experts said the situation arose out of excessive extraction.
The gas field produces 34 million cubic feet gas a day. The amount of total reserve there is 34 billion cubic feet.
Cairn started digging a new well in Moghnama of Cox's Bazar in early October and it will continue for 200 days. The government signed an agreement with Cairn in July 2001.
Cairn has a 37.5 per cent share in the block No. 16 and 45 per cent shares in the block Nos. 5 and 10.
It is exploring oil and gas in the three blocks after an agreement with the government but only extracting from Sangu gas field in block No. 16 to supply it to the national grid.
Cairn has been trying for the last one year to sell its business in Bangladesh. It had talks with the Indian firm ONGC but the planned deal did not get through.