Chinese, Turkish firms collect offshore bid documents; ExxonMobil, BP in talks

Bangladesh launched the offshore bidding round for a second time on 24 May, offering 26 hydrocarbon blocks – 11 in shallow waters and 15 in deep-water areas of the Bay of Bengal – to international oil companies for exploration. The deadline for bid submission is 30 November this year.

Petrobangla said efforts are on-going to bring some major energy giants like BP, ExxonMobil, Murphy Oil, Petrobras, and KUFPEC in the bidding process by reaching out to those companies.

The purchases are significant as companies typically need to study geological and technical information before deciding whether to submit commercial bids for offshore blocks.

Md Shoyeb, director (Operation and Mines) of Petrobangla, said 10 companies have so far bought information packages but bid documents were bought by 3 companies.

“We expect that some energy giants will buy bids in the coming days. Discussions are going on with ExxonMobil, BP and several others.”

Information packages draw wider interest

The bidding round has also attracted a wider group of companies at the initial information-gathering stage.

According to official sales records, companies that purchased Information Packages include local infrastructure and engineering firms as well as international energy and research companies.

Beringia Power Bangladesh Ltd, KrisEnergy, PEAL Engineering & Construction Ltd and ONODA INC are among the companies that have purchased the packages.

Global energy research and consultancy firm Rystad Energy has also bought an Information Package, while local infrastructure company Max Infrastructure Ltd has joined the list.

Switzerland-based Impression Ventures AG is another buyer, while Chinese state-owned Sinopec International Energy Investment Limited has moved further into the process by purchasing the Information Package along with the Promotional Package and specialised DSP-2 & 10 Data Package.

The Information Package provides companies with initial information to assess opportunities under the offshore bidding round, while the Promotional Package and specialised data offer more detailed material for companies moving towards potential bids.

ExxonMobil, BP and Eni in talks

Bangladesh is also reaching out to some of the world’s major oil and gas companies to bring them into the offshore bidding process.

A Bangladesh delegation met executives of ExxonMobil, BP and Eni on 30 September.

US energy major ExxonMobil had contacted Petrobangla soon after the opening of the offshore bidding round and held an online meeting with the state-owned company. Executives representing ExxonMobil’s Asia-Pacific region attended the meeting.

According to Petrobangla officials, ExxonMobil said it had previously purchased a data package when the offshore bidding process was launched under the interim government and expressed interest in purchasing bid documents in the current round as well.

Petrobangla officials said the government would continue discussions with ExxonMobil and other US energy companies. Energy Division officials, led by Power and Energy Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmood, are also expected to visit the United States to engage with major US energy companies.

British energy giant BP has also expressed interest in the offshore bidding round and held an online meeting with Petrobangla officials in July.

Deepwater experience among potential players

Several companies that have shown interest or were discussed during the international outreach have experience in offshore and deepwater exploration in different parts of the world.

Houston-based Murphy Oil Corporation, an independent oil and gas exploration and production company, operates and participates in fields across more than 100 blocks in the deepwater Gulf of America. The company also has offshore exploration interests in Brazil, Vietnam and Côte d’Ivoire.

Brazil’s Petrobras is another major deepwater operator, with involvement in 14 major deepwater production-sharing fields in Brazil. The company also signed an agreement in September to explore eight deepwater offshore blocks in Côte d’Ivoire under production-sharing contracts.

Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC) has stakes and interests in offshore exploration and production projects in Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia and the South China Sea.

KUFPEC is also investing $1.54 billion in gas exploration and related infrastructure, with production targeted for 2028, while it has partnered with China National Offshore Oil Corporation in three separate production-sharing contracts in the South China Sea.

Canadian-incorporated and Singapore-headquartered Valeura Energy is involved in offshore oil exploration in the Gulf of Thailand and also has an interest in a deep, tight-gas appraisal block in Turkey’s onshore Thrace Basin.