Bangladesh opens bidding for 26 offshore oil and gas blocks today
The bidding notice under the Bangladesh Offshore Model Production Sharing Contract 2026 will be published today on official websites and in newspapers
The government is set to formally launch an international bidding round today (24 May) for offshore oil and gas exploration across 26 blocks in the Bay of Bengal under a revised production sharing framework aimed at attracting leading global energy companies.
The bidding notice under the Bangladesh Offshore Model Production Sharing Contract 2026 will be published today on official websites and in newspapers, according to officials from the Energy and Mineral Resources Division and Petrobangla.
The round will offer 11 shallow sea blocks and 15 deep sea blocks, with authorities hoping that revised fiscal incentives, pricing mechanisms, flexible exploration terms and gas export provisions will revive investor interest after previous offshore rounds failed to attract sufficient participation.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Companies will be able to purchase bid documents from 1 June and submit tenders until 30 November, allowing a six-month window to evaluate geological data and prepare proposals.
Officials said production periods have been set at 25 years for gas fields and 20 years for oil fields, with extensions of up to 10 additional years permitted.
The Energy and Mineral Resources Division has also arranged a "Meet the Press" briefing at 2:30pm today to outline the bidding framework.
Hayat Md Feroze, joint secretary and chief of the development wing of the Energy Division, said all preparations had been completed for launching the offshore bid today.
"Tender notices will be available on the website from Sunday morning," he told The Business Standard yesterday (23 May).
According to the tender notice, a basic information package containing geological data, block maps and related materials will be available from 1 June for $100.
Meanwhile, the full promotional package — including seismic sections, gravity data, magnetic data and geological maps — will cost $7,000.
Officials of Petrobangla hinted that the deadline for bid submission could be extended if the response from international companies remains weak during the initial six-month window.
Revised PSC designed to attract investors
Officials said the Bangladesh Offshore Model Production Sharing Contract 2026 has been significantly revised to enhance competitiveness with regional producers amid rising domestic energy demand and declining gas reserves.
The new framework introduces Brent-linked gas pricing, pipeline tariff mechanisms, full repatriation of profits, tax exemptions, export rights for contractors and political risk protection clauses. The signature bonus requirement has also been removed to reduce upfront costs for investors.
Engineer Md Shoaib, director of the Production Sharing Contract unit at Petrobangla, said the revised terms were designed to improve investor confidence and align with international standards.
He said the government had accelerated preparation of the framework in line with an exploration plan aimed at boosting domestic energy output.
Eligibility criteria for bidders
The bidding documents set strict eligibility requirements for participating companies.
At least one member of a bidding consortium must be an operator of offshore acreage with a minimum daily production capacity of 5,000 barrels of oil or 75 million cubic feet of gas for shallow sea blocks.
For deep-sea blocks, the requirement rises to 10,000 barrels of oil or 100 million cubic feet of gas per day.
Companies must also demonstrate at least one exploration and production experience outside their home country
