The government has rejected a $30 billion investment proposal of the US energy giant ExxonMobil to explore oil and gas in the Bay of Bengal.
“They (top officials of ExxonMobil met with me about the proposal and I requested them to participate in the next bidding round 2024,” state minister for power and energy Nasrul Hamid told the journalists on Tuesday.
On Sunday, another US company Chevron Bangladesh has shown interest to participate offshore bidding round 2024.
According to ExxonMobil unsolicited proposal, it had proposed to conduct a 2D seismic survey in the Bay of Bengal in November this year under a $30 billion investment proposal in Bangladesh.
ExxonMobil will invest $40-50 million in 2D seismic survey for the evaluation of Bangladesh’s deep-water mineral resources, the proposal said.
“In a success case, a further $50-100 million would be invested in 3D seismic, $80-100 million for each well and $10-$30 billion for deep-water blocks development,” ExxonMobil new opportunities manager Janathan Wilson wrote to State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid last year.
He said a successful development offers the chance of saving up to $3 billion per year to a long term LNG contract.
According to the ExxonMobil proposal, it seeks to sign the MoU prior to commencing negotiation, officials confirmed.
“Once an MoU has been signed, we will be ready to progress negotiations, which I presume will be via the negotiation committee,” Janathan Wilson earlier said.
ExxonMobil proposed to start the 2D seismic survey in the coming dry season in November, the proposal said.
The cabinet approved a draft Bangladesh offshore model Production Sharing Contract (PSC) 2023 on July 26 to explore oil and gas in the Bay of Bengal.
State Minister for Power and Energy Nasrul Hamid termed the PSC as “one of the best three PSCs in the world.” He said it accommodates all of the factors including competitive prices, tax, and sharing.
He said, “The international oil companies have received messages regarding the lucrative PSC from us.”
The hydrocarbon price is set at 10 percent of three months of average Brent crude prices.
