Chinese cos buy Chevron Bangladesh

US oil giant Chevron Corporation today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Chevron Global Ventures, Ltd., has entered into an agreement to sell the shares of its wholly-owned indirect subsidiaries operating in Bangladesh to a Chinese consortium named Himalaya Energy Co Ltd, said a Chevron press release.

Read more: Chevron employees one step closer to getting their dues

Himalaya Energy is owned by China ZhenHua Oil Co and CNIC Corporation Ltd. The financial deal has not been disclosed.

Chevron Bangladesh operates Block 12 (Bibiyana Field) and Blocks 13 and 14 (Jalalabad and Moulvibazar fields). Closing of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions.

Chevron is currently responsible for more than half of country’s daily gas production. Whereas the country daily produces around 2600 million feet per day (mmcfd) gas, Chevron provides more than 1400 mmcfd from these three fields. Of them, the Bibiyana field alone provides more than 1100 mmcfd.

Besides, Chevron also daily produces around 9000 tonnes of condensate - a liquid fuel by-product found in some gas fields. The remaining gas fields of the country produce around 1500 tonnes of condensate.

Chevron’s earlier operations -- that includes discovery of the massive Bibiyana field in the late nineties -- were spearheaded by Unocal which was globally acquired by Chevron in 2005. The company invested around $3 billion dollars, while it currently has 538 employees.

Chevron operates under two Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) under which it gets a maximum of $3 dollars for per thousand cubic meter of gas -- while Bangladesh gets a proportionally bigger chunk of gas as free share -- making the deals very profitable for the country.

Chevron announced selling out its assets in different countries -- including Bangladesh -- last year, due to oil price slump that led to losses. Since Chevron decided to sell its Bangladesh asset, Bangladesh government had made an offer that Chevron did not accept. Since then Chevron was negotiating with Chinese company ZhenHua Oil.

Chevron Corporation is one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies. Through its subsidiaries that conduct business worldwide, the company is involved in virtually every facet of the energy industry.

Chevron (previously Unocal) introduced three-dimensional seismic survey in Bangladesh for the first time in the late nineties while surveying the Bibiyana field area.