Reuters.com: Shell to transfer Bangladesh operations to Cairn

04 Apr 2004 12:01  

DHAKA (Reuters) - The Royal Dutch/Shell Group said on Sunday it would transfer its operations and sell its upstream assets in Bangladesh to joint venture partner British oil and gas firm Cairn Energy PLC.

"The government of Bangladesh has approved our proposal and it is time to say good bye," Zaffar Chida, managing director of Shell Bangladesh Exploration and Development told a news conference.

Both the companies had equal stakes in the Bangladesh joint venture.

"We formally proposed to sell our upstream assets in September last year and now we received the final approval from the Prime Minister," Chida said.

Shell and Cairn invested nearly $560 million in Bangladesh's lone offshore gas field in Chittagong and two other blocks.

"Shell's decision to divest its Bangladesh assets fits within the overall strategic development of the Group's global portfolio," Chida said.

Cairn Energy will continue to run the business in Bangladesh.

"We will explore domestic market in Bangladesh. But our future investment will be market driven, not on the basis of speculation," Ian G. Halstead, general manager Cairn Energy plc, said.

Bangladesh has 20.5 trillion cubic feet of proven and recoverable gas reserve based on current estimates, officials said.

http://www.reuters.com/locales/newsArticle.jsp?type=businessNews&locale=en_IN&storyID=4744131