DHAKA, Feb. 28 (NsNewsWire) — The Bangladeshi government is awaiting an assessment report by a foreign consultant to decide whether a state-run corporation will place a formal bid to buy Chevron assets in three gas fields of the country, reports Xinhua.
Spokesperson of Bangladesh’s Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Aslam Uddin told Xinhua Monday that “We’ll get the assessment report from a consultant by next two weeks.”
“The decision to place a bid or not will be taken after getting assessment report.”
He said two months ago the Bangladesh government hired the global energy consultancy group Wood Mackenzie to assess the natural gas assets in the fields in northeastern Bangladesh for which the U.S. company Chevron, which entered into Bangladesh by buying Unocal Corporation in 2006, is seeking about 2 billion U.S. dollars.
In 2005, U.S. company Unocal had bought Occidental’s assets in Bangladesh. Under the care of Occidental a devastating explosion had occurred at a gas field “Magurchara” on June 14, 1997.
To counter a prolonged slump in energy prices, Chevron, which still faces compensation claim for massive gas explosions in 1997 when Occidental was drilling a well there, last year announced to sell about 10 billion U.S. dollars worth of assets in Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines by this year.
Through Chevron subsidiaries, the company operates three fields – Bibiyana, Jalalabad and Moulavi Bazar – under production-sharing contracts (PSC) signed with the Bangladeshi government, represented by Bangladesh’s Ministry of Energy & Mineral Resources, and state-run Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation, or Petrobangla.
Through its subsidiaries in Bangladesh, Chevron with a workforce of over 2,000 Bangladeshis employees produces natural gas and condensate from three fields in the northeast of the country.
According to its website, its net daily production in 2015 averaged 720 million cubic feet of natural gas and 3,000 barrels of condensate which is liquid hydrocarbon produced with natural gas.
A government source on condition of anonymity, however, said before making a decision on Chevron’s assets Bangladesh may again raise its voice for compensation for Magurchara explosion that triggered huge catastrophe in the 840 meter below of surface level in the afore said gas field.
The explosion on June 14, 1997 also reportedly cost too much for the environment, as it denuded about 700-acre reserved forest, destroyed dozens of tea gardens and hampered greatly the lives of numerous workers and tribal people living nearby, amounting to losses worth millions of dollars.
Though measures have been taken to improve the conditions, evident to this major accident are still seen in the location of the accident.
Petrobangla as of June last year reportedly received 120 million taka (about 1.51 million U.S. dollars) and got gas worth over 1.5 million U.S. dollars as compensation from the U.S. company.
A Chevron official talking to a local media recently claimed that all substantiated compensation claims pertaining to the June 1997 have been settled. Enditem