Despite not being an energy expert on any count, I have often remained in two minds considering our gas reserves and exploration related issues.
The confusion had actually deepened because of two contradictory prevailing myths on our existing and potential gas reserves. Myth number one, Bangladesh is floating on gas. Myth number two, our gas reserves are about to deplete very soon.
And since the world of myths dangerously diverts one from reality, this writer eagerly decided to participate at a conference held under the banner of "Is Bangladesh running out of gas resource?" held last January. The seminar organised by the Department of Geology of Dhaka University was an eye-opening event. More to it, the seminar had added an extra value with the participation of local and foreign energy experts and evenly balanced with facts, figures and challenges and opportunities on hydrocarbon exploration in Bangladesh.
Nevertheless, while analysing a particular sector, there can be a number of aspects in a feasibility study. My point of attention was specific - why aren't our exploration activities gathering a momentum, especially on the offshore arena, despite settling our sea territory disputes with Myanmar and India?
Wait, that's not all, there are other questions too. Notwithstanding our settled sea boundaries with our two important neighbours, Bangladesh yet lacks the very basic of the seismic survey vitally needed, otherwise a multi-client seismic survey.
Just to cut a long point short, the idea of multi-client survey is: a selected firm will conduct a seismic survey in a different country's maritime boundary at its own cost. On completion of the survey, the firm will share its findings with the state-owned energy establishment free of cost. Understandably, in our case the state-owned organisation would be Petrobangla. Additionally, the foreign surveyor firm, in our case a Norwegian firm was selected and cancelled, also proposed to share a portion from its selling of seismic survey details to other OICs, with the Bangladesh government.
From the surveyor's end, the selected firm will have a right to sell the findings and seismic data to aspirant international oil companies or IOCs. Based on which the IOCs would decide whether to participate in oil and gas exploration in the Bangladesh sea territory, or not.
Coupled with myths, now there was a mystery that began to unfold.
What we so far know from media reports and reliable government sources, The Energy Division took its first move for conducting a multi-client seismic survey about six years ago. But after having selected the Norwegian international firm through the official tendering process, the Prime Minister's Office later cancelled the foreign firm. In a bid to award the tender to a new client, the same Norwegian firm was selected once more. All of a sudden, the entire decision making process took a dramatic shift in august 2017 - when the government decided to purchase an expensive research vessel for conducting the multi-client seismic survey in the Bay of Bengal.
Having discussed the mystifying shift in decision making with a number of energy experts and government officials, it appeared unimaginably fishy.
By now we all know the government is planning to conduct the survey with its own expertise and financial capabilities. More to it, it's about to procure a specialised marine vessel for it.
If the vessel is procured as a substitute option for conducting a multi-client seismic survey at the Bay - it's not only ridiculously expensive but also time consuming.
Also the question that pops up involuntarily, Does Petrobangla has the necessary skilled workforce to conduct such offshore seismic survey?
While sharing the delay in survey with at least a half a dozen people consisting of energy experts, academicians and government officials - none could come up with a convincing explanation.
If the government continues to face such enormous obstacles and delay in conducting a basic general seismic survey, how will it ensure proper and efficient exploration and utilisation of hydrocarbon resources, if discovered?
The point, however - where as our next door neighbours - India and Myanmar - continues to expedite their on-shore and off-shore explorations in full steam - Bangladesh is yet nowhere near them.
It was learnt from the seminar's PowerPoint presentation, in the Indian off-shore there has been a well drilled for exploring hydrocarbon resources per every 146 kilometres. In the Gulf of Mexico, there is a well per every 14 square kilometres.
In Bangladesh, on average, we have a well per every 5,000 square kilometres. Moreover, successes in gas discoveries during the 1960s were not followed by comparable achievements purely because of lack in serious exploration activities - both for oil and gas.
It's time to address the continuing inertia in our exploration activities.
Now let's shift our focus to the east - our next door neighbour Myanmar. Despite decades of military rule, the country exported 8, 561 ktoe (Kilotonne of Oil Equivalent) of natural gas and 144 ktoe of crude oil in 2013. The country is one of the five major energy exporters in the region and is the second biggest exporter of natural gas in the Asia Pacific region after Indonesia.
The once branded ' pariah state' by the West - Myanmar has one of the most diverse energy sectors in the ASEAN region consisting of the following energy sources : 62 hydropower projects, 1 coal-fired power plant, 20 gas-fired power plants and numerous renewable and solar power projects across the country.
And we are yet to explore and discover what we have stored beneath our soil and waters, let alone success stories.
Sensibly speaking, it is never logical to hit gold at first strike and those who hit gold, otherwise discover new hydrocarbon reserves, and only do it following a relentless strategic and practical approach.
It might sound similar to treasure hunting but how can one hit a treasure unless the search for it has never commenced.
The notion: Bangladesh gas resource is on its way to exhaust does not have any geo-scientific merit.
That said - why are our energy policy makers developing an over-reliance on imported fuel while leaving the economy vulnerably exposed?
Reasonably, there are political and business interests behind the undesired tendency. It is right on this point, where a seemingly factual 'energy mafia' keeps calling the shots in Bangladesh.
The energy sector anywhere around the world is a tempting lucrative sector for brokers, lobbyists and unscrupulous policy makers. In spite of their wicked and somewhat accepted presence, discoveries have been made but nowhere in the world is the situation as murky as in Bangladesh.
On one hand, a selective few local and international businessmen are being given the direct access to make atrocious amount of profits out of fuel importing businesses, while on the other our actual and potential mineral resources have been deliberately kept unexplored.
Unquestionably, there is a dirty politics being played behind the scenes of the energy sector in Bangladesh. it ranges from conducting surveys , tender process for the IOCs to selecting questionable energy firms.
Not to forget, how the Canadian explorer Niko Resources had left behind a hard-to-miss corruption trail within our energy sector.
The peculiar case in Bangladesh - all avenues for fast tracking the exploration process has been either delayed or blocked.
Without pinpointing individuals, existence of such a sinister syndicate in an independent and a sovereign country's energy sector is never possible without the active involvement of local politicians, policy makers, government bureaucrats, deceitful businessmen, and energy brokers to international lobbyists.
To sum up, there is an 'energy mafia' hell-bent to deter Bangladesh from exploring her mineral resources. Energy in any form determines the life, value and future of a nation and that's not all. It also appears a game changer in geopolitics.
The billion dollar question, how can we break this ghost syndicate from realising our energy aspirations?
This writer is not an investigative reporter, but he badly misses one in debunking the 'energy mafia' in Bangladesh.
We are no short of intelligence and resources to pinpoint the members of this mafia that has kept the energy industry fifty years behind, and therefore follow an independent and rational course of action to free it.
The message of this piece, however, if we don't control the future of our unexplored and potential hydrocarbon riches ourselves, some other unwarranted power will.
That's perhaps the last sad reality we wish to witness.
Busting the myths, it' time the government and the concerned minister, the prime minister herself , digs deeper into the actual functioning of the Ministry of Power , Energy and Mineral Resources.
Her direct intervention on several national issues produced concrete positive outcome, and on the topic of dissecting the 'energy mafia' for the greater benefit of Bangladesh people, it's only a matter of sincere intention, nothing more.
The writer is editor-in-charge of the editorial section, the Daily Observer
