The government has shown interest to acquire assets of three onshore gas fields currently held by Chevron Bangladesh.
Bibiyana, Jalalabad and Moulvi Bazar fields, which may be put up for sale, are currently operated under a production sharing contract by the local subsidiary of US-based oil giant Chevron.
Petrobangla consideres a possible valuation of $3bn for the assets.
Chevron’s gas fields account for half of Bangladesh’s natural gas production.
Chevron produces 1255 MMCF of gas from Bibiyana, 270 MMCF from Jalalabad and 50 MMCF from Moulavi Bazar fields per day. The three fields could have 3 to 4 trillion cubit feet (TCF) of gas, according to Petrobangla estimates.
As per the PSC, the government gets 60 to 77 per cent of free gas from three gas fields.
The US oil producer, which has started to divest assets to counter an energy-price slump, is seeking some USD 2 billion from a sale of natural gas assets in Bangladesh.
Chevron said, “We can confirm that Chevron has been in commercial discussions about our interests in Bangladesh. At this stage, no decision has been made to sell our interests. We will only proceed if we can realize attractive value for Chevron.”
Petrobangla chairman Istiaque Ahmed said, “We’ve got the information and are monitoring the issue. But Chevron will have to act as per the production sharing contract (PSC).”
“We’re very serious about the issue. Obviously, the issue is being monitored,” he added.
Nasrul Hamid, state minister for energy and power, said, “We’re interested in buying the assets. It’ll be a big opportunity for us to have the entire production of the three gas fields.”
“I personally talked to the chairman of Chevron Bangladesh yesterday. He confirmed that the company is trying to sell its natural gas assets in Bangladesh,” he added. In reply to a question, the minister said, “I extended an offer to Chevron to buy the assets and was assured that its local office will talk to the headquarters on the interest shown by the Bangladesh government.”
“Before taking any decision, we must assess the asset value of the three gas fields and keep in mind that Bangladesh enjoys the majority share of natural gas. I’ve instructed Petrobangla to assess the value of the total assets. After getting the estimated value, we can go one step ahead,” he added.
Source: Ittefaq