EXPRESSIONS of interest are due in this month to state-owned Petrobangla for a survey vessel that the Bangladesh government is seeking to carry out its own 2D seismic shoots in the Bay of Bengal, writes Amanda Battersby.

The move to acquire its own vessel came after several years of Petrobangla unsuccessfully trying to appoint a third party to acquire multi-client seismic in its territorial waters that it hopes will prove gas-bearing.

“We need to do our own survey. We should not depend on others’ surveys to determine if we have gas resources or not,” a government official said.

The national oil company is in the market for either an idle newbuild or a vessel that is no more than five years old.

The vessel must be available within 10 months for a newbuild or 12 months for an active vessel, which suggests that seismic acquisition could start after the 2018 monsoon season.

The Bangladesh government intends to acquire the survey vessel under the Speedy Supply of Power & Energy Act (Special Provisions), 2010 that will allow it to make an award without following the typically protracted tender process.

Petrobangla is seeking a multi-role, highly advanced survey vessel, also suited to carrying out geotechnical, oceanographic, geophysical and hydrographic surveys from coastal bay and estuaries to and beyond the Bay of Bengal’s continental shelf.

Hamburg-based consultancy Technolog Services is handling the vessel’s procurement.

Weekly

Seismic vessel needed