BP shows interest in Bangladesh's offshore bidding
The development contrasts with the previous offshore bidding round launched by the interim government in 2024, when BP did not purchase bid documents.
British multinational oil and gas supermajor BP has expressed interest in Bangladesh's offshore oil and gas exploration bidding round 2026, marking the first sign of interest from one of the world's largest energy companies since the government relaunched offshore bidding under a more investor-friendly Production Sharing Contract (PSC).
According to officials at the Energy Division and Petrobangla, BP wrote to Petrobangla on 17 July, seeking the state-owned company's bank account details to remit payment for the bid documents from abroad.
Petrobangla responded on 19 July, providing the necessary banking information.
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The development contrasts with the previous offshore bidding round launched by the interim government in 2024, when BP did not purchase bid documents.
Petrobangla officials said BP does not have an office in Bangladesh, prompting the company to inquire whether it could purchase the bid documents by transferring the payment directly from overseas.
"BP emailed us to know whether the company could buy the bid documents by remitting money from abroad. The company also sought our bank account details for the payment. We have sent all the necessary information they requested," said Engr Md Shoyeb, director (Production Sharing Contract) at Petrobangla yesterday.
"It is encouraging for us that BP has shown interest in our offshore oil and gas exploration," he added.
A Production Sharing Contract (PSC) is an agreement under which an oil company bears the cost and risk of exploration and field development, while the host government shares production with the company once commercial discoveries are made, allowing the investor to recover costs and earn a profit.
Six firms have bought data packages
Besides BP's interest, six companies have so far purchased the information package for Bangladesh's Offshore Oil and Gas Licensing Round 2026.
The companies are Beringia Power Bangladesh Ltd, KrisEnergy, PEAL Engineering & Construction Ltd, ONODA Inc, Rystad Energy and Max Infrastructure Ltd.
Petrobangla officials expect more international energy companies to join the process in the coming months, noting that several global companies already possess Bangladesh's offshore data from the previous bidding round.
"Companies such as KrisEnergy, Chevron, CNOOC and ExxonMobil bought the information packages during the 2024 bidding round. They already have all the data we have," Shoyeb said.
BP has extensive experience operating under Production Sharing Contracts and Production Sharing Agreements across dozens of countries.
The company operates 11 offshore blocks in Indonesia, holds a 25-year PSA for offshore Block D230 in Azerbaijan's Caspian Sea, and is involved in deep-water developments in Angola under long-term production-sharing agreements.
It also has operations in Uzbekistan and Trinidad and Tobago and several other countries across the world.
Revised terms to attract global investors
Bangladesh formally launched the international bidding round on 24 May, offering 26 offshore blocks in the Bay of Bengal under a revised PSC framework designed to attract global exploration companies after earlier efforts failed to secure bids.
The government has offered 11 shallow-water blocks and 15 deep-water blocks.
Interested companies have been allowed to purchase bid documents from 1 June, while the deadline for submitting bids is 30 November, giving bidders six months to evaluate geological data and prepare proposals.
Officials said the revised PSC includes improved fiscal incentives, updated gas pricing mechanisms, more flexible exploration terms and provisions allowing gas exports under specified conditions.
The production period has been set at 25 years for gas fields and 20 years for oil fields, with extensions of up to 10 additional years permitted.
No bids in 2024 round
Bangladesh's previous offshore bidding round in 2024 drew interest from seven international companies, all of which purchased information packages and bid documents. However, none ultimately submitted a bid.
The companies were KrisEnergy (Singapore), Chevron Bangladesh (US), CNOOC (China), ExxonMobil (US), INPEX Corporation (Japan), ONGC (India), and PTTEP (Thailand).
The Energy Division said, to bring the companies on board, efforts are also underway to establish direct contact with major oil and gas companies who have a proven record of working under PSC.
