Teachers from different public and private universities on Sunday urged the government to refrain from allowing international oil companies to explore hydrocarbon on the land.
Under the banner of Conscious Teachers of Universities, they placed the demand at a meeting in protest at the government’s recent decision reneging on its earlier decision to keep onshore exploration in the hands of state-run Bapex.
Badrul Imam, energy expert and a professor of geology at Dhaka University, read out a written statement in the meeting held at the Centre for Advance Research in Sciences of the university.
He said the government move was against national interest as an IOC would charge some four times than what Bapex would charge for supplying natural gas from an onshore field.
Besides, the foreign oil companies would have more command on the country’s reserves of natural gas which would threaten national security, he said.
Badrul mentioned that the government was already dependent on two foreign companies for 56 per cent of the country’s total gas supply.
The government, in a bid to expedite hydrocarbon exploration, decided in April to explore a number of options to involve international oil companies that includes awarding of onshore blocks under the Model Production Sharing Contract, formation of joint ventures and conducting seismic surveys.
Anu Muhammad, a economics professor at Jahangirnagar University and member secretary of the national committee to protect oil-gas and other resources, said it was a shame for the nation when the governments justify such moves saying that the country did not have the human resources and capacity in oil and gas exploration by itself.
It was a lie, he said refuting the government’s argument about the capacity of the state-run organisations like Bapex.
Anu said the vested quarters in the government were trying to undermine Bapex so that their preferred companies from Russia and China could be engaged in onshore exploration.
Shamsul Alam, an electrical and electronics engineering professor at Daffodil University, said the government’s decision was suicidal.
Among others, a number of professors of different departments including economics, geology, sociology, international relations, mass communication and journalism and psychology attended the meeting.
Under the banner of Conscious Teachers of Universities, they placed the demand at a meeting in protest at the government’s recent decision reneging on its earlier decision to keep onshore exploration in the hands of state-run Bapex.
Badrul Imam, energy expert and a professor of geology at Dhaka University, read out a written statement in the meeting held at the Centre for Advance Research in Sciences of the university.
He said the government move was against national interest as an IOC would charge some four times than what Bapex would charge for supplying natural gas from an onshore field.
Besides, the foreign oil companies would have more command on the country’s reserves of natural gas which would threaten national security, he said.
Badrul mentioned that the government was already dependent on two foreign companies for 56 per cent of the country’s total gas supply.
The government, in a bid to expedite hydrocarbon exploration, decided in April to explore a number of options to involve international oil companies that includes awarding of onshore blocks under the Model Production Sharing Contract, formation of joint ventures and conducting seismic surveys.
Anu Muhammad, a economics professor at Jahangirnagar University and member secretary of the national committee to protect oil-gas and other resources, said it was a shame for the nation when the governments justify such moves saying that the country did not have the human resources and capacity in oil and gas exploration by itself.
It was a lie, he said refuting the government’s argument about the capacity of the state-run organisations like Bapex.
Anu said the vested quarters in the government were trying to undermine Bapex so that their preferred companies from Russia and China could be engaged in onshore exploration.
Shamsul Alam, an electrical and electronics engineering professor at Daffodil University, said the government’s decision was suicidal.
Among others, a number of professors of different departments including economics, geology, sociology, international relations, mass communication and journalism and psychology attended the meeting.
Source: New Age