On behalf of the government, Petrobangla leases oil and gas wells to IOCs for exploration. Even though state-owned Bapex has the capacity to implement exploration projects, the government selected three foreign oil companies for drilling for hydrocarbons in 13 onshore wells. Gazprom is currently drilling two onshore wells (Shahbazpur North and Shahbazpur East), costing nearly double what Bapex would have spent, according to sources. The money already invested is not refundable if oil and gas are not found after exploration. The last round of bidding for onshore exploration under a model PSC was in 1997.

Source: Dhaka Tribune October 16, 2017 18:45 UTC