Bangladesh Approves New Offshore Model PSC

The Bangladeshi government has approved a new Offshore Model Production Sharing Contract 2023 (PSC), in what is considered a milestone that would open the gates toward more exploration offshore Bangladesh, the data firm involved in seismic research said.

The Bengal Fan is considered one of the world’s largest deep-water fans with good evidence of working petroleum systems and one of the most extensive unexplored frontier areas, energy data and intelligence provider TGS ASA said in a media release announcing the completion of the first phase of a 2D seismic acquisition program in April 2023.

The exploration was done in partnership with SLB and Petrobangla. Phase 1 stretches 12,636 line kilometers (7850 miles), and the fast-track processed products are now available to the industry, it said.

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The data was acquired to enhance the geological understanding of the prospective Bengal Fan. In addition, the data will also be an essential tool for acreage evaluation, supporting future license rounds, TGS said

The overall program will encompass around 32,000 line kilometers (19,880 miles) of multi-client seismic data covering most of offshore Bangladesh. The new data will be acquired using long offset and long record lengths to image the deeper sections, and will be processed through modern high-end broadband pre-stack time and depth migrated workflows, according to TGS.

While fast-track data is available, final processing deliverables are anticipated in the first quarter of 2024.

“The approval of the new contract marks a significant milestone event that will help drive exploration offshore Bangladesh. With limited data available in the region, the new seismic data in combination with the Production Sharing Contract are key components that will enable companies to evaluate open acreage and support the launch of a new offshore License Round for the country,” Will Ashby, EVP of Eastern Hemisphere at TGS, said.

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