Petrobangla, BAPEX sign MoUs with Gazprom
State-owned PetroBangla and BAPEX (Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited) on Tuesday signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Russian state-owned oil major Gazprom to work together for the development of Bangladesh’s energy sector, reports UNB.
PetroBangla is the principal organisation in the country’s hydrocarbon sector while BAPEX is a subsidiary of PetroBangla dedicatedly working for the exploration of hydrocarbon.
Under the MoU with BAPEX, Gazprom will jointly carry out gas field development activities like conducting 2D and 3D seismic surveys in Southern district of Bhola while the same Russian company will build a strategic partnership to implement different projects jointly under the deal with PetroBangla.
Addressing the signing ceremony at PetroBangla office, prime minister’s energy adviser Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury said Gazprom’s MoU with BAPEX will play a vital role in gas sector’s development of the Bhola Island.
“The MoU between Gazprom and PetroBangla is a strategic partnership under which both the companies may go for deep sea exploration, even there might be onshore exploration in the remote areas in Chattogram region,” he told newsmen.
“They’re interested to work with us in any kind of development activities,” he added.
The function was also attended by energy secretary Anisur Rahman, Russian ambassador to Bangladesh AI Ignatov, PetroBangla chairman ABM Abdul Fattah, while deputy chairman of the Management Committee of PJSC Gazprom Vitaly Markelov and managing director and CEO of Gazprom EP International BV Sergey Tumanov and PetroBangla secretary Mohammad Ali signed the MoUs on behalf of their organisations.
Tawfiq-e-Elahi said the government believes that this MoU will provide opportunities to work in a coordinated manner with the largest gas company in the world which has the most developed technologies.
“They’re the largest company having the biggest reserve and supplying gas to different countries in Europe through the longest gas pipeline,” he said adding that both PetroBangla and BAPEX will immensely be benefited as they are very experienced company.
“We think this is a gift for the nation in Mujib Borsho (Year),” the PM’s energy adviser added.
PetroBangla in a press release said the MoU signing is the follow-up of the prime minister’s visit to Russia in 2010. During the visit, prime minister Sheikh Hasina requested the Russian president to extend his country’s cooperation for the development of Bangladesh’s gas sector.
Meanwhile, Gazprom has drilled 10 wells in the areas under BAPEX and two other state-owned companies. In the follow-up move, three more gas wells have been drilled in Srikail, Shahbazpur and Bhola North, said PetroBangla.
In 2017, an MoU was signed between the energy division of Bangladesh and the energy ministry of Russian Federation for the development of energy sector through a bilateral cooperation.
Under the MoU with BAPEX, PetroBangla officials said, Gazprom will conduct 2D and 3D seismic surveys in the newly-discovered Bhola North gas field area.