Bid to procure rig for BAPEX fails again
Sunday, 9 December 2007
M Azizur Rahman
The government's strategy to strengthen the state-owned hydrocarbon exploration company has faced yet another setback as the attempt to purchase a rig failed for the fourth time.
The recent initiative to purchase a rig for the Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd (BAPEX) turned void due to lukewarm response in the international bidding, a senior Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD) official told the FE.
The BAPEX 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 reputed international manufacturers and suppliers.
A total of nine foreign companies, including two from the United States and one from Germany, purchased bidding documents from BAPEX, but seven of them did not participate.
He said only two Chinese companies submitted their offers to supply rig to BAPEX.
"The bids submitted by both the Chinese companies were found technically non-responsive by the evaluation committee recently," the EMRD official said clarifying the annulment of these offers.
Currently, the BAPEX has only one land-drilling rig purchased in 1982.
The BAPEX took an initiative to purchase its second land-drilling rig in 1998, but it was never materialised due to fund constraints.
The government tried to obtain foreign financing to purchase the rig. But failing to do so, it approved the BAPEX proposal to purchase a rig at a cost of Tk 820 million and floated tender in 2003, a senior EMRD official said.
As the international bidders quoted higher prices, the cabinet committee on government purchase of the previous four-party alliance government halted two successive biddings in 2004 and 2005 respectively.
The third bidding, initiated in November 2006, fizzled out because of insufficient response from bidders.
Sources said the BAPEX recently successfully drilled Titas's well no 15 and 16 of the Bangladesh Gas Fields Company Ltd (BGFCL), which are producing nearly 45 million cubic feet gas per day (mmcfd).
The company is also drilling well no five and six of Kailashtila gas field, owned by the state-run Sylhet Gas Fields Ltd (SGFL).
But to strengthen BAPEX's capacity purchasing of a rig is urgent, a senior BAPEX official said.
It will facilitate enhancing the company's hydrocarbon exploration capacity to a great extent, he said.
The government's strategy to strengthen the state-owned hydrocarbon exploration company has faced yet another setback as the attempt to purchase a rig failed for the fourth time.
The recent initiative to purchase a rig for the Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd (BAPEX) turned void due to lukewarm response in the international bidding, a senior Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD) official told the FE.
The BAPEX 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 reputed international manufacturers and suppliers.
A total of nine foreign companies, including two from the United States and one from Germany, purchased bidding documents from BAPEX, but seven of them did not participate.
He said only two Chinese companies submitted their offers to supply rig to BAPEX.
"The bids submitted by both the Chinese companies were found technically non-responsive by the evaluation committee recently," the EMRD official said clarifying the annulment of these offers.
Currently, the BAPEX has only one land-drilling rig purchased in 1982.
The BAPEX took an initiative to purchase its second land-drilling rig in 1998, but it was never materialised due to fund constraints.
The government tried to obtain foreign financing to purchase the rig. But failing to do so, it approved the BAPEX proposal to purchase a rig at a cost of Tk 820 million and floated tender in 2003, a senior EMRD official said.
As the international bidders quoted higher prices, the cabinet committee on government purchase of the previous four-party alliance government halted two successive biddings in 2004 and 2005 respectively.
The third bidding, initiated in November 2006, fizzled out because of insufficient response from bidders.
Sources said the BAPEX recently successfully drilled Titas's well no 15 and 16 of the Bangladesh Gas Fields Company Ltd (BGFCL), which are producing nearly 45 million cubic feet gas per day (mmcfd).
The company is also drilling well no five and six of Kailashtila gas field, owned by the state-run Sylhet Gas Fields Ltd (SGFL).
But to strengthen BAPEX's capacity purchasing of a rig is urgent, a senior BAPEX official said.
It will facilitate enhancing the company's hydrocarbon exploration capacity to a great extent, he said.