Govt to award three offshore gas blocks

The cabinet committee on economic affairs is set to approve a proposal to award three shallow-sea blocks to an American and an Indian company to boost gas production to meet its rising demand.
US-based oil company ConocoPhillips will be awarded block 7, while India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) will get blocks 4 and 9 under the Bangladesh Offshore Bidding Round 2012.
The energy and mineral resources division will soon seek permission from the cabinet committee to sign production sharing contracts with the companies, an official said.
It came after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in principle agreed to award the three shallow-sea blocks in the Bay of Bengal for exploring gas.
Both companies will conduct 2-D, 3-D seismic surveys to drill development wells in the blocks.
ConocoPhillips will share 55 percent to 80 percent of the gas discovery and 60 percent to 85 percent of oil discovery with Bangladesh.
ONGC will provide 60 to 85 percent of the gas discovery and 70 to 90 percent of the oil discovery to Bangladesh.
Officials said the exploration would aim to meet the demand for gas in the Chittagong region, which is suffering from an acute energy crisis.
The offshore bidding was announced in December last year to explore nine shallow blocks and three deep-sea blocks.