Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - A delegation from Russian Gazprom will arrive in the capital Dhaka on Monday to finalize a draft of the deal to drill 10 onshore gas wells in the country, officials said.
"We’re eyeing to finalize the draft of the deal with Gazprom this time," Petrobangla Chairman Dr Hussain Monsur was quoted by the Financial Express (FE), a local newspaper, as saying.
He also hoped the deal between Petrobangla and Gazprom will be inked shortly.
A number of issues including a framework for compensation in the event of a blowout and the payment of insurance premiums will be settled during the discussion, the officials added.
The purchase committee has approved a Gazprom offer to drill 10 onshore gas wells at a total cost of $193.55 million to raise the country's overall gas output, they said.
The Russian firm has assured to complete drilling within 18 months of signing the deal.
It has agreed to pay 5.0 percent of the total cost as a performance guarantee, the newspaper reported.
Gazprom and Petrobangla held discussions several times during the last two years on the Russian firm's involvement in oil and gas exploration in Bangladesh.
Petrobangla chairman also expects to get around 300 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas once the 10-well drilling program is successfully completed.
Gazprom will be the first foreign company to partner with Petrobangla in oil and gas exploration without a production-sharing contract.
BBN/SSR/AD-09Jan12-3:20 pm (BST)