Govt sues Niko over Tengratila gas blowout damage
FE Report | Thursday, 19 June 2008
The government has filed a case against the Canadian oil company Niko to realise compensation for the losses caused by the gas blowout at Tengratila in Sunamganj, said M Tamim, special assistant to the Chief Adviser, Wednesday.
'As it is now a national issue, the government has no option but to file a case against the foreign operator to get the compensations,' he told journalists after a meeting in a city hotel.
The government Tuesday filed the case against the Niko Resources Ltd. claiming Tk 7.46 billion (746 crore) as compensation for the loss of gas and the damage done to the environment after the blowout in the Chhatak gas field in 2005.
Gas of the field blew out on two occasions - in January and in June of 2005- when the Canadian oil company started drilling for extracting gas.
When asked about the present status of the arbitration between the government and the Niko on the gas blowout damage, M Tamim said: 'The is now not within the two operators - the sate-owned BAPEX and the Canadian Niko Resource. It is a national issue. So, the government has filed the case.'
The government in the meantime requested the Niko Resources several times to settle the issue through negotiations or arbitration, but the foreign company was reluctant.
The government has already stopped paying gas prices to the Niko for extracting gas from the Feni Gas Field due to its reluctance to pay the compensation for the Tengratila blowouts.
The government awarded the Chhatak and Feni gas fields to the Canadian oil company and the BAPEX in October, 2003 for extracting gas on joint-venture.
'As it is now a national issue, the government has no option but to file a case against the foreign operator to get the compensations,' he told journalists after a meeting in a city hotel.
The government Tuesday filed the case against the Niko Resources Ltd. claiming Tk 7.46 billion (746 crore) as compensation for the loss of gas and the damage done to the environment after the blowout in the Chhatak gas field in 2005.
Gas of the field blew out on two occasions - in January and in June of 2005- when the Canadian oil company started drilling for extracting gas.
When asked about the present status of the arbitration between the government and the Niko on the gas blowout damage, M Tamim said: 'The is now not within the two operators - the sate-owned BAPEX and the Canadian Niko Resource. It is a national issue. So, the government has filed the case.'
The government in the meantime requested the Niko Resources several times to settle the issue through negotiations or arbitration, but the foreign company was reluctant.
The government has already stopped paying gas prices to the Niko for extracting gas from the Feni Gas Field due to its reluctance to pay the compensation for the Tengratila blowouts.
The government awarded the Chhatak and Feni gas fields to the Canadian oil company and the BAPEX in October, 2003 for extracting gas on joint-venture.