The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Experts at a meeting in the city urged the government not to export oil and gas and conduct seismic survey before leasing out oil-gas blocks in the sea to foreign companies for the sake of national energy security.

They recommended the government not to lease all oil-gas blocks at a time and also to unearth any conspiracy in the coal policy.

As oil and gas resources are not renewable so we have to preserve these giving highest priority to saving our national resources, they said.

Since there is no extraction agreement for Block No 12, 13 and 14, these blocks should be given to BAPEX rather than to any foreign company, they added.

They urged the government to develop Chhatak (East) gas field to overcome the existing energy crisis.

The discussion meeting on 'Searching Oil and Gas in Coastal Region and Extraction Agreement: Thoughts of Civil Society' organised by Janatar Sangsad (JS) in collaboration with Organ Developments Ltd at the National Press Club yesterday.

Prof M Shamsul Alam of Chittagong University presented keynote paper, while Eng Sheikh Muhammad Shahidullah, Eng Enamul Haque, Eng Sardar Amin, General Secretary of JS, among others, spoke at the meeting.

Speakers said the proposed coal policy was prepared according to people's demands. As a result, the coal policy is country-friendly. But the PSC model was refurbished and adopted quietly and people could not get the opportunity to give their inputs, they said and raised the question, "This type of self-contradictory behaviour of the Energy Ministry is questionable."

They urged the government to make transparent agreements with foreign companies.

They also urged the government to reorganise the PSC Model to bring accountability in the agreement.