Offshore Oil, Gas Exploration

Nat'l convention October 24

5 October 2009, 17:00 PM

Staff Correspondent

National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports will hold a national convention on October 24 to press home their demand for scrapping the government decision to sign a production sharing contract (PSC) with foreign companies to explore oil and gas from offshore gas blocks. This was announced by Engineer Sheikh Muhammad Shahidullah, convener of the national committee, while addressing a press conference at Mukti Bhaban in the city yesterday. “According to the proposed contract, Bangladesh will actually get 20 percent of total extracted gas. The government will however reserve the right to buy the rest 80 percent of gas. But if the government fails to buy then the companies will sell the gas elsewhere,” he claimed. “In reality, the government would not be able to set up pipelines from deep sea to the mainland to buy the gas and the foreign companies would not be bound to pay for setting up pipelines. So, it is clear that 100 percent of the extracted gas would be exported or trafficked,” he added. Terming the government's strategy a ploy to trick the countrymen he said on the one hand the government had asked the foreign companies to complete the contract procedure immediately and on the other hand they called upon the National Committee to sit for talks. Shahidullah also demanded cancellation of the Production Sharing Contract 2008, refraining from signing new contract with foreign companies, organising a public voting to know their opinion about the proposed contract, formulation of a new PSC and full implementation of Phulbari agreement. He also claimed that the United States might set up its naval base in the Bay of Bengal in the name of oil and gas exploration. Shahidullah criticised the government for giving approval to multinational company Chevron for conducting seismic survey at Blocks 12 and 13, and awarding the tender to the same company for establishing compressor machine to accelerate the gas pressure inside the pipeline, which might cost 55.7 million US dollar. Before holding the national convention, the National Committee will hold convention in five divisional cities. In Barisal, the divisional convention will be held on October 7 at 3:00pm, in Khulna on October 9 at 11:00am, in Rajshahi on October 10 at 11:00am, in Chittagong on October 12 at 4:00pm and in Sylhet on October 16 at 11:00am. Shahidullah called upon people from all walks of life to attend the conventions to make them successful. At the press conference Nur Mohammad, member of the National Committee, urged the government to give detailed information to countrymen about the maritime region of Bangladesh and its resources. “We categorically demand the distribution of translated (in Bangla) copies of PSC 2008 among the people immediately,” he said.