Gazprom obtains drilling works of 3 wells at Bhola gas field

Russian oil major Gazprom obtained a contract for drilling 3 wells at Bhola gas field at a contract value of Tk 648.39 crore.

Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase in a meeting on Thursday approved a proposal of the stature-owned Petrobangla in this regard to award the contract to the Russian firm to do the job on a turnkey basis.

Another four procurement proposals from different ministries also received the nod of the committee in the meeting presided over by Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Division placed the Petrobangla’s unsolicited proposal, based on Speedy Supply of Power and Energy Supply (Special Act) 2010, to the Cabinet Body for approval.

It means, the Russian firm was selected for the project through negotiation and without any competitive bidding process.

Gazprom will take over the drilling works from the Petrobangla’s subsidiary Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company (Bapex) which discovered the Bhola gas field.

Mustafa Kamal said Gazprom was picked up for the project since it is a reputed international firm having vast experience in this field.

Earlier, Gazprom had drilled a number of wells at different gas fields to enhance gas production. But many energy experts were critical over the contract value of the works of the Russian firm.