An Indian weekly magazine, had claimed that negotiations between Indian authorities, two Bangladesh companies and two multinationals for a transnational pipeline to take gas from Bangladesh and Myanmar to the "energy starved" eastern Indian states and Andhra Pradesh were at an "advanced stage". Petrobangla, the state-owned gas company, and Energy Ministry sources said Indian officials had been visiting Dhaka with various proposals for the past year. However, they could not say whether any negotiations for any inter-regional pipeline were in progress.

The report said the government-owned Indian Oil and Natural Gas Coorporation (ONGC) was negotiating with two Bangladeshi companies, Mohona Holdings and Banamco Energy, and two multinationals companies, Unocal and Cairn.

Sources here, however, said the proposal pursued by MohonaHoldings did not include gas export from Bangladesh. "It proposes to use Bangladesh as a transit to supply gas from Myanmar and eastern India to western India," a source told IANS.

Quoting a source in the oil industry in India, the magazine report said the Bangladeshi companies would have controlling stake in the projects and gas producers in Bangladesh could buy a stake. The Indian section of the pipeline would be built and owned by the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL).

"We are confident of this project seeing the light of day because, unlike on previous occasions, Bangladesh companies are getting actively into the project and pressuring their government to export gas to India," an Indian official was quoted as saying. Petrobangla and engery experts in Bangladesh believe that the country was not in a position to consider gas export right now or in the immediate future. They say the per capita gas consumption in Bangladesh is as low as 67 kg of oil equivalent (KGOE) which, as per United NationsDevelopment Programme (UNDP) standards, should rise to 1,000 KGOE to prompt development. For this Bangladesh will need 106 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas in the next 10 years.

Even if energy consumption in Bangladesh reaches the Indian consumption level of 260 KGOE, Bangladesh will need 28 TCF of gas. At a recent workshop that brought together leading local and oil company experts, Bangladeshi experts said export of two TCF of gas through the pipeline would not increase the growth rate of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). Rather, the GDP will get a boost only through development of the gas sector and setting up of gas-based industries, they argued.

Multinational companies headed by Unocal are hammering on the gas export issue. Unocal recently purchased three blocks of gas fields in Sylhet from Occidental for exploration. It has also been awarded another block after the second round of block-bidding. It is also negotiating another mega-project in another oilfield. Europeanmultinational oil company Shell has taken over the operation of two blocks of gas fields from Cairn apart from two other blocks which it has obtained through bidding. As a result, Shell and Unocal have now become powerful players in the country's energy sector. "Due to the weak monitoring system and infrastructure of Petrobangla and lack of vision and commitment of the government, these foreign oil companies will emerge as a monopoly force," commented an energy expert. Bangladesh now has a proven recoverable gas reserve of more than 11 TCF and new gas fields whose reserves are yet to be estimated have been discovered.