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Originally posted by Da Bannu Mazdigar
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i belong to swat you not. media does not tell whats going on there. two days before fazal hayat was killed and today another comety member was killed in the day light under the supervision of 40000 security forces. but you will not accept because you are a blind worshiper of pti and agencies. -
One disadvantage they have is that there are too many people on their land.Population density is very high.Originally posted by Da Bannu Mazdigar View Post
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Our historical/traditional homeland is from the Rajmahal Hills in Bihar to the Arakan Yoma ranges bordering Burma. The mischievous British left us in pieces as they have done everywhere. We must retrieve what was ours on 23 June 1757.Originally posted by asif86 View PostComment
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The boundries will be reclaimed one dayOriginally posted by asad71 View Post"[B][SIZE="3"]Seer Speen Wazeer[/SIZE][/B]"Comment
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Foreign companies leery of Bangladesh's gas fields
Nov. 24, 2014, noon
Asia Pacific
By Jonathan Manthorpe
Bangladesh’s political instability and obstructionist officials have been a roadblock to developing the country’s vast offshore energy wealth
Bangladesh has won undisputed ownership of what may be Asia-Pacific’s largest reserves of natural gas, but it is having a tough time persuading anyone to develop the fields.
The main reasons why international oil and gas companies are shunning Bangladesh are that the country’s tense political climate and disjointed economy make sinking money into the Bay of Bengal look far too risky. At a time when new technologies have made vast new supplies of natural gas available worldwide and thus depressed prices for the foreseeable future, companies are putting far more weight than in the past on the political and social contexts of their potential investments.
The failure of Bangladesh to attract investment is highlighted by the contrast with the bustling development of Burma’s Rakhine basin to the east and of India’s Mahanadi basin to the west.
The maritime boundary dispute between Bangladesh and Burma, also known as Myanmar, was settled by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in 2012. Since then, the state-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise has awarded 20 offshore blocks to major internationals such as ConocoPhillips, Chevron, Total, Royal Dutch Shell and Norway’s Statoil.
New exploration and re-examination of old data show the Rakhine basin has great potential. But more than two years after the tribunal decision, little is happening in Bangladeshi waters, even though the gas-bearing geological structure stretches under the boundary line. The latest estimates are that Bangladesh’s offshore reserves of natural gas could be 200 trillion cubic feet, the largest in the Asia-Pacific region – and with easy access to the Indian, Chinese and southeast Asian markets. But when, in 2012, Bangladesh invited bids for 11 offshore blocks, only three were eventually awarded and no bids were received for deep-water allocations.
The resolution in July last year of the maritime boundary dispute with India to the west has been no more encouraging. The decision gave Bangladesh undisputed sovereignty over large areas of the northern end of the Bay of Bengal, and in April, the national oil company, Petrobangla, opened offshore oil blocks for bids. The response was meagre, with only Statoil and the United States’ ConocoPhillips making a joint bid on three deepwater blocks.
What is deterring the oil and gas companies is the political and economic climate ashore. Hundreds of people died during the campaign leading up to January’s elections. The tensions between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League and the opposition Bangladesh National Party are still volatile and could easily flare into further violence.
Bangladesh is one of the world’s poorest countries, but instead of trying to stimulate economic development, successive governments have constructed a network of subsidies for staples such as food and energy. At the same time, Bangladesh ranks 136th in Transparency International’s assessment of corruption levels in 177 countries. Even when the system works, little of the subsidy money gets to where it was intended to land.
There has been little investment in infrastructure to encourage international oil and gas companies, either in physical transportation links or in administrative competency. The international companies mutter quietly that the Bangladeshi government and its instruments like Petrobangla and Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Co. lack the expertise or trained personnel to perform as reliable partners. There have been constant costly delays in getting such things as government decisions on exploration licences, and the companies say they find the Bangladeshi officials needlessly obstructive.
Yet at some point the Dhaka government has to realize it has the resource assets to start pulling its people out of poverty. And if it cannot itself field the skills to develop those resources, it had better find people who can. •
Jonathan Manthorpe (jonathan.manthorpe@gmail.com) has been an international affairs columnist for nearly 40 years.
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Shukran ya Masr!!!
Thanks to Egypt for supporting Bangladesh against Pakistani harassment and support for terrorists and war criminals!!Comment
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