Bangladesh will arrange at least two overseas road shows to rope in potential oil- and gas-exploration companies from across the globe for participating in the already-opened offshore bidding round.
One show is planned to be staged in Houston in the United States and another in global business-hub Singapore, officials say about the latest bid for extracting hydrocarbons from the Bay of Bengal.
The energy and mineral resources division (EMRD) under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources (MPEMR) has already taken the decision for holding these open exposition as part of its move to attract international oil companies (IOCs) for hydrocarbon exploration in the offshore turfs, a senior EMRD official told The Financial Express on Sunday.
The dates of these road-shows are not yet fixed.
State-run Petrobangla formally launched the long-awaited offshore- bidding round on May 24 with 26 hydrocarbon-exploration blocks on offer for potential IOCs under significantly improved contractual terms.
Five companies -- Singapore-based KrisEnergy, Norway-based Rystad Energy, Japanese ONODO Inc, Beringia Power BD Ltd, and Peal Energy and Construction -- have so far purchased information package with keen interest in taking part in the bid round.
Apart from publishing notices in local media, Petrobangla has emailed some 106 IOCs across the globe requesting them to take part in the bidding.
The bid notice was also published in the international gateway SP Global, the state corporation claims.
The newly elected BNP government launched the offshore-bidding round within 100 days of its taking office to attract foreign investment into the country's energy sector amid growing concerns over long-term energy security.
The aim is to reduce its vulnerability to global fuel-market disruptions caused by the prolonged Middle East crisis and restrictions on vessel movements through the Strait of Hormuz.
Petrobangla has sweetened the model production-sharing contract (PSC) to revive international interest as the previous offshore tenders failed to secure participation from global energy firms.
Of the 26 offshore blocks on offer -- 11 are in shallow waters and 15 in deep waters in the Bay.
The shallow-sea blocks on offer are SS-01, SS-02, SS-03, SS-04, SS-05, SS-06, SS-07, SS-08, SS-09, SS-10 and SS-11.
The deep-sea blocks are DS-08, DS-09, DS-10, DS-11, DS-12, DS-13, DS-14, DS-15, DS-16, DS-17, DS-18, DS-19, DS-20, DS-21 and DS-22.
The cutoff time for bid submissions is up to November 30, 2026.
Among the new developments the government has made to attract the IOCs include reduction in mandatory contribution to the workers' profit participation fund (WPPF) to 1.5 per cent from the previous 5.0 per cent.
Eased obligations relating to the construction of hydrocarbon pipelines following discoveries and subsequent operations, full repatriation of profits, no signature bonus or royalty, and attractive wellhead gas prices linked to international benchmark Brent crude -- with floor and ceiling prices determined on the basis of the lowest and highest average Brent prices over the previous five years -- are among the key contract features.
Contractors will also be entitled to mutually agreed pipeline tariffs, to be paid by the buyer, to support pipeline investments for both shallow- and deep-sea blocks.
The contracts also include exemptions from duties on equipment and machinery imported for petroleum operations during exploration and production phases, while contractors' corporate income-tax liabilities will be borne by Petrobangla.
Sources say not a single IOC did participate in the latest offshore- bidding round launched under the previous Awami League government, although several companies had purchased bid documents.
Market insiders say a lack of confidence among IOCs, coupled with inadequate data on offshore blocks, contributed to the lukewarm response.
Petrobangla had kept the offer open for nine months after floating the international tender on March 10, 2024. Thereafter, 24 offshore blocks - 15 deep-sea and nine shallow-water blocks - were offered for exploration leases.
Before the latest bid round, Bangladesh had launched only one offshore-bidding round over the past decade, in 2017, and that was limited to three deep-water blocks, according to Petrobangla.
Although Posco-Daewoo was awarded deep-water block DS-12 following the bidding, the company withdrew from the block in 2020 after conducting a 2D seismic survey.
Previously, Petrobangla had floated another bidding round in 2012, through which three shallow-water blocks and one deep-water block were awarded to contractors.
Currently, two IOCs hold active PSCs, either individually or through joint ventures in Bangladesh.
American oil major Chevron is actively exploring and producing natural gas in three gas fields under onshore blocks 12, 13 and 14. Singapore-based KrisEnergy is producing natural gas from the Bangura field under Block 9.
azizjst@yahoo.com