Nikogate?

January 9, 2005 - Tengratila Gas Field, Sunamganj
(Courtesy: The Daily Star)

On Jan 7, 2005, a blowout occured at the Chattak-2 (Tangratila) gas field, which was being explored by Canada-based Niko Resources. Initially, a seven-member committee, headed by a joint secretary of the energy division, made a preliminary investigation of the damage immediately after the blow-out and estimated that 1 bcf of gas reserves, worth about Taka 12 crore (Taka 120 million), was lost as a result of Niko's negligent practices and aggressive drilling.

Not quite so, says a four-member committee, headed by Kazi Shahidur Rahman, a senior general manager of the Environment and Safety Division of Petrobangla, which submitted its report to the Energy and Mineral Resources Division. According to them, the losses are more than ten times the initial estimate.

And this does not include estimates on the damage to the reservoir itself, or the surrounding environment.

So what are the chances that this new finding will further strenghten our claims for compensation?

Depends on who is making the claim I guess. Environment and Forest Minister Tariqul Islam has been quite vocal in his demands for compensation, but will State Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources Division, AKM Mosharraf Hossain find the voice to do so too?

Recently, it was revealed that he received a luxury SUV worth 85 lakh taka from Niko. Sure, Niko and those in the Ministry claim it was all done within the joint-venture agreement, with the official line being Petrobangla provided the State Minister with the new car from its subsidiary Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration Company Limited (BAPEX), which in turn had received the car from Niko. What is irregular though is that the brand new car was personally handed over to the State Minister by a Niko representative.

This isn't the first time that his questionable dealings with foreign companies have raised eyebrows - Kafco and Marubeni come to mind.

He's abroad right now; I'll be waiting to hear what he has to say when he gets back home.



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UPDATE: Jun 19, 2005

Just heard from Channel-i that he's resigned. Such an assumption of personal responsibility is unprecendented in Bangladesh, and he deserves respect for it.

One can only hope that this kind of accountability is here to stay.