CNOOC Eyes Tullow's Bangladesh Assets

The China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) may take over Tullow Oil's assets in Bangladesh. The UK energy firm is planning to divest all its Asian assets, located in Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Financial Express has said that CNOOC earlier had submitted its bid for Bangladesh's shallow water gas block SS-08-01 in the February 2008 offshore bidding round but was not successful. The Chinese firm is now looking to take part in Bangladesh's next offshore bidding round.

Tullow Oil has 30 per cent stake in the Bangora gas field in Comilla district under the block 9, with the gross output of around 100 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) from four wells. The company in February last submitted a proposal to the state-owned Petrobangla to ramp production up by at least 25 per cent to 125 mmcfd.

It also has a shallow-water offshore gas block SS-08-05, which it was awarded in the February 2008 bidding round, the newspaper said.

The newspaper report added that Australia’s Santos has also held preliminary talks with Tullow Oil to buy its assets in Bangladesh.