Bangladesh is to have Chevron Corp’s in-country natural gas reserves assessed before making a formal bid to buy the assets, according to reports.
The South Asian country’s energy minister said the government will only strike a deal for the American multinational’s three fields in the north-east of the nation once their worth has been appraised.
Capital city Dhaka is notoriously energy starved, with around half of its gas needs met through Chevron’s three fields at at Bibiyana, Jalalabad and Moulavi Bazar.
Nasrul Hamid, state minister for power, energy and mineral resources, said the Bangladeshi goverment will only make Chevron an offer once the reserves and other details have been assessed.
Chevron announced in 2015 that it planned to sell around $10 billion of assets by 2017 due to the downturn in energy prices.
Last year, the company saidsaid it was in discussions about the potential sale of the three fields with an estimated value of $2 billion.
Bangladesh Gas Fields Co Ltd willselect the company that will assess the reserves next month, with Hamid adding that it might need the help of an international oil firm to further develop the fields.
Chevron sells its entire output from these fields to state oil company Petrobangla under a production-sharing contract.
Under the terms of the contract, the Bangladesh government has the right of first refusal in any asset sale.