A number of international companies from Europe and India have expressed their interest in exploring offshore blocks in the Bangladeshi territory.

They are expected to participate in the bidding before signing any agreement to explore gas in the deep sea, local daily The New Nation reported on Friday.

According to the report, the recent discovery of huge gas reserves in offshore in neighbouring India and Myanmar prompted the Bangladeshi government to take measures for studying the unexplored offshore potential blocks.

Bangladeshi government is likely to float international tender for deep sea study next month. The seismic survey up to 200 nautical miles into the Bay of Bengal is expected to be completed by early next year.

The discovery at the offshore sites at Hatiya and Meghhnama with an estimated reserve of 4 trillion cubic feet gas has encouraged the government to go for seismic survey before inviting bidding. The international oil companies are expected to bear the expenses of the study, the report said.

Source: Xinhua