Staff Reporter :
Being irked by the current activities of the US based oil giant Chevron, the government is now mulling a plan to appoint an administrator to monitor all activities of the company relating to the share transfer to a Chinese company, a top official of state-run energy company Petrobangla told said.
The decision to appoint the administrator came on the heels of a row between the global energy giant and the government over the sell-out of Chevron’s Bangladesh operations.
According to the official, last year, international media reported that US oil giant Chevron would sell its Asian assets. On the basis of this information, the Bangladesh government evinced interest to buy the company’s assets of three gas fields, in which Chevron has 30 per cent shares and the Bangladesh government 70 per cent.
But Chevron did not reply to the government over the past four months. In the meantime, it struck a deal with China’s state-run Zhenhua Oil for the transfer of its ownership of gas fields in Bangladesh which made the government annoyed.
“Till now, we don’t know anything. We don’t know what is happening inside the Chevron office in Bangladesh. So, we have decided to send someone to monitor all of its activities here,” said Petrobangla Chairman Abul Mansur Mohammed Faijullah.
The government apparently went ‘tough’ over the issue as Chevron recently struck a primary deal with a Chinese company to handover its shares ‘ignoring’ the government’s formal offer to take Chevron stake, he added.
Chevron Bangladesh President Kevin Lyon, meanwhile, was learnt to have set a meeting with Petrobangla Chairman Abul Mansur yesterday to inform its preliminary deal with China’s state-run Zhenhua Oil although neither of the parties disclosed any thing about the meeting.
“We can officially tell you something after we have been informed about the meeting by our head office,” Chevron spokesman Sheikh Zahidur Rahman said.
However, Petrobangla and Chevron officials said, the local office will inform the Bangladesh government by this week, on behalf of the head office. It will also submit all relevant documents to Petrobangla, as per the production sharing contract (PSC).
“After receiving the documents, the government would not only appoint an administrator, but will also devise a strategy on the issue. Hence, the next few months are very important for Petrobangla,” disclosed a government official preferring anonymity.
Meanwhile, Chevron has been operating three gas fields in the country. These are Bibiyana, Jalalabad and Moulvibazar. Production from those gas fields stands at 720 million cubic feet of natural gas and 3,000 barrels of condensate.
In October last year, the government showed interest to purchase the Chevron-owned gas fields because it was a matter of “national interest” and a purchase was “on the table”, said sources at the ministry.
Being irked by the current activities of the US based oil giant Chevron, the government is now mulling a plan to appoint an administrator to monitor all activities of the company relating to the share transfer to a Chinese company, a top official of state-run energy company Petrobangla told said.
The decision to appoint the administrator came on the heels of a row between the global energy giant and the government over the sell-out of Chevron’s Bangladesh operations.
According to the official, last year, international media reported that US oil giant Chevron would sell its Asian assets. On the basis of this information, the Bangladesh government evinced interest to buy the company’s assets of three gas fields, in which Chevron has 30 per cent shares and the Bangladesh government 70 per cent.
But Chevron did not reply to the government over the past four months. In the meantime, it struck a deal with China’s state-run Zhenhua Oil for the transfer of its ownership of gas fields in Bangladesh which made the government annoyed.
“Till now, we don’t know anything. We don’t know what is happening inside the Chevron office in Bangladesh. So, we have decided to send someone to monitor all of its activities here,” said Petrobangla Chairman Abul Mansur Mohammed Faijullah.
The government apparently went ‘tough’ over the issue as Chevron recently struck a primary deal with a Chinese company to handover its shares ‘ignoring’ the government’s formal offer to take Chevron stake, he added.
Chevron Bangladesh President Kevin Lyon, meanwhile, was learnt to have set a meeting with Petrobangla Chairman Abul Mansur yesterday to inform its preliminary deal with China’s state-run Zhenhua Oil although neither of the parties disclosed any thing about the meeting.
“We can officially tell you something after we have been informed about the meeting by our head office,” Chevron spokesman Sheikh Zahidur Rahman said.
However, Petrobangla and Chevron officials said, the local office will inform the Bangladesh government by this week, on behalf of the head office. It will also submit all relevant documents to Petrobangla, as per the production sharing contract (PSC).
“After receiving the documents, the government would not only appoint an administrator, but will also devise a strategy on the issue. Hence, the next few months are very important for Petrobangla,” disclosed a government official preferring anonymity.
Meanwhile, Chevron has been operating three gas fields in the country. These are Bibiyana, Jalalabad and Moulvibazar. Production from those gas fields stands at 720 million cubic feet of natural gas and 3,000 barrels of condensate.
In October last year, the government showed interest to purchase the Chevron-owned gas fields because it was a matter of “national interest” and a purchase was “on the table”, said sources at the ministry.
