Govt fooling people on PSC: oil-gas body

Dhaka, June 28 (bdnews24.com)?The government is misguiding people about the production-sharing contract it signed with US company ConocoPhillips on gas exploration from two deep-sea blocks, a citizens' platform has alleged.

At a discussion in the city on Friday, leaders of the National Committee on Protection of Oil, Gas and Mineral Resources, Power and Ports also questioned the government decision to lift ban on export of LNG, or liquefied natural gas.

They said the government had signed the deal with ConocoPhillips to export all gas from the two deep-sea blocks.

The committee organised the discussion on 'Why the agreement signed with ConocoPhillips on the exploration of oil-gas from the Bay of Bengal is contrary to the national interest' at Mukti Bhaban in Naya Paltan.

The government signed the deal with the US firm on June 16, awarding exploration of gas from two deep-sea blocks.

The company won deep-sea blocks DS-08-10 and -11 at an offshore block bidding floated by Petrobangla in 2008. The PSC allows exploration of the undisputed part of the blocks and that covers an area of 5,158 square kilometres.

The blocks are located about 280 kilometres from the port city of Chittagong.

The committee has been opposing signing of the agreement since beginning. It has also called a half-day general strike in Dhaka for July 3 in a bid to push the government to rescind the agreement.

Presenting the keynote paper, Dhaka University economics professor M M Akash questioned the motive behind the recent approval of the National Export Policy, exempting LNG from the list of export ban items.

Member secretary of the committee professor Anu Muhammad said the government was deceiving people by saying that the deal was signed in national interest.

Committee convenor Sheikh Mohammad Shahidullah urged all to make its July 3 hartal a success.

Marine expert Nur Mohammad, water expert M Enamul Haque, professor Akmal Hossain of international relations department of Dhaka University, professor Naseem Akhter Hussain of government and politics department of Jahangirnagar University and anthropologist Rehnuma Ahmed also addressed at the discussion.

Communist Party of Bangladesh general secretary Mujahidul Islam Selim, Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal general secretary Khalekuzzaman and Ganasanghati Andolan chief coordinator Zonayed Saki, among others, were also present.

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