Dhaka to offer 12 Bay of Bengal blocks next month

摘要

Dhaka—Bangladesh’s state-run Petrobangla has mapped out 12 blocks in the Bay of Bengal that it will offer in the country’s next licensing round scheduled for August, a senior company official said July 26. Of the 12 blocks, nine are in shallow water and three in deepwater, the official said. The country had earlier planned to launch the bid round in April, but deferred it to complete a fresh demarcation of its maritime boundary following a settlement of its overlapping claims with Myanmar in March. The United Nations International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea on March 14 upheld Bangladesh’s claim to an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles in the Bay of Bengal and to a substantial share of the outer continental shelf beyond, ending its boundary dispute with Myanmar.