Editor's Pick

Dhaka: How a city was planned to drown

12 July 2026, 17:12 PM Big Picture

Salinity and the unseen health burden in coastal Bangladesh

12 July 2026, 23:55 PM Big Picture

How Bangladesh should respond to China’s proposed corridor

12 July 2026, 00:00 AM Geopolitical Insights

When rain turns Dhaka's commute into a second job

9 July 2026, 14:28 PM Monsoon Misery

Bangladesh’s wheat imports surge to all-time high

12 July 2026, 00:00 AM Economy

Call to cancel deal with ConocoPhillips

26 September 2011, 18:00 PM

METROPOLITAN

Staff Correspondent

The National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power, and Ports stages a demonstration to press their seven-point demand in the city yesterday.Photo: STAR

The National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power, and Ports yesterday launched its Dhaka-Chittagong road march to press a seven-point demand including scrapping of the deal with ConocoPhillips for exploring gas and oil in the Bay of Bengal. Convener of the national committee, Engineer Sheikh Mohammad Shahidullah, inaugurated the three-day road march in front of the city's Jatiya Press Club in a brief rally. During the march, the committee will hold street rallies and grand rallies in Comilla and Chittagong. On June 16, Bangladesh made its first ever step into exploring gas and oil in the Bay by signing a production-sharing contract (PSC) with US oil company, ConocoPhillips. The company won two deep-sea blocks at an offshore block bidding floated by Petrobangla in 2008. The PSC allows exploration of the undisputed part of the blocks that cover an area of 5,158 square kilometres. Engineer Shahidullah said people took to streets for keeping hold of their ownership over the national resources protesting 'deals of slavery' the government signed with foreign companies. Prof Anu Mohammad, member secretary of the committee, said the deal is going to be a threat not only to the energy security but also to the national security of the country. Columnist Syed Abul Maksud said they were mounting the movement for the historical necessity and to serve the national interest. The committee's other demands include cancellation of the production-sharing contract (PSC)-2008, enactment of laws banning export of minerals resources, and delegating the national authorities to explore oil and gas. Communist of Bangladesh Party President Manzurul Ahsan Khan and General Secretary Mujahidul Islam Selim, President of Workers Party of Bangladesh Rashed Khan Menon and General Secretary Anisur Rahman Mollick, and Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal General Secretary Khalequzzaman, among others, were present at the rally. CU Supports Road March The Chittagong University (CU) unit of the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power, and Ports brought out a procession from the university railway station yesterday in support of making the three-day road march successful, reports our CU correspondent. Speakers at a rally that followed the procession said the deal with ConocoPhilips is against national interests, and the government should immediately cancel it. CU unit Samajtantrik Chhatra Front president Probal Majumder, Chhatra Federation president Shahrin Ferdousi, and Chhatra Union president Taslim Uddin addressed the rally.