Government again awarding well drilling work to Gazprom



Special Correspondent, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Despite Bapex's capabilities, the government is again going to give the Russian company Gazprom the job of drilling 3 gas wells in Bhola at a high price.

The cost of drilling each well is estimated at 21 million dollar. If the state-owned company Bapex could have been awarded that, it could have ended at 7 to 9 million dollars. Even then, the Russian company is being given the work of digging one well after another at an increased price.

On the one hand, Bapex's equipment and manpower are sitting idle, at the same time the burden of additional debt is being imposed on the domestic company.

Bapex's outgoing number of MDs told Barta24.com that Bapex itself is well suited to dig these wells. They have dug wells in Bhola before. Through which gas is now being extracted. About Taka 40 crore has been spent on that well. Bapex still has more modern technology. Then why it will be said that Bapex will not be able to have any other concern.

Even before this, there has been a lot of criticism about giving work to Gazprom. Gazprom has drilled a total of 18 wells under multiple contracts. The contract value of the first 10 was about 193.53 million US dollars. In other words, the contract value of each well was a little more than 19.39 million dollars. The latest wells drilled by Gazprom have a contract value of 17.47 million each. But this time the decision to break all records has been finalized by the Proposal Processing Committee (PPC) of the Department of Energy and Mineral Resources. Now it will go to the procurement cabinet committee. After the approval there, if the Prime Minister gives final approval, Gazprom will be able to start work in Bhola.

Development of two wells with two explorations and one appraisal (appraisal cum development) Gazprom is being paid 63.56 million dollar to drill these three wells. In other words, the average cost of digging each well is 21.19 million or more than 21 million dollars. This work is being given to Gazprom under the law of increasing the rapid supply of electricity and fuel (special provisions).

An official from the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources said on condition of anonymity that Gazprom's offer was worth more than 75 million. Abu Hena Rahmatul Munim, the then senior secretary of Division of Energy and Mineral Resources in November last year led technical sub-committee was formed during his tenure evaluated Gazprom's technical proposal and commercial proposal in December and submitted a report to the PPC. At the PPC meeting, the chairman of Petrobangla also gave a positive opinion on hiring Gazprom. Due to the high pressure of the wells in Bhola, it is risky to extract gas. It is expected that a significant amount of gas can be extracted from 3 wells in Bhola using the previous experience of drilling 16 wells of Gazprom in Bangladesh. Senior Secretary Anisur Rahman at the PPC meeting on the basis of the consensus of all members agreed to that.

On August 30, 2018, the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources sent a summary of the proposal to drill the existing three wells for the approval of the Prime Minister, stating that Gazprom would drill these three wells at a 'reduced price'. The Prime Minister approved the proposal. But now the contract price of 3 wells that has been finalized is higher than the price of the wells dug before by Gazprom.

Bapex sources claimed, Bhola is a discovered gas field. Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd. (Bapex) has discovered it. Bapex has also dug multiple wells there. The three wells that Gazprom is currently being commissioned will also dig at the location specified by Bapex, following the geological technical order (GTO) given by Bapex. Bapex has all the information required for drilling wells as a two-dimensional and three-dimensional seismic survey has been conducted in Bhola. Bapex also has the necessary equipment and manpower, including rigs, for drilling wells. There is a frustration among Bapex officials as they have hired Gazprom at a high price by keeping Bapex at bay. Many are leaving Bapex. Earlier, Bapex had made a DPP worth Taka 55 crore to dig a well in Srikail. Later that DPP was canceled and given to Gazprom for Taka 180 crore. There is a big cycle behind this.

When the Energy Secretary was contacted over mobile phone to discuss the matter but did not receive the call.

   

We are ashamed to look at the development of Bangladesh: Pakistan PM



International Desk, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif praised the economic progress of Bangladesh and said that they are ashamed to look at the development of Bangladesh.

According to a report by Pakistan-based media Dawn on Thursday (April 25), Shahbaz Sharif said this in a view exchange meeting with business representatives at the Sindh Chief Minister's residence in Karachi on Wednesday (April 24).

He said that before independence, Bangladesh i.e. East Pakistan at that time was considered a burden to the country. But they have made tremendous progress in the growth of industrialization.

Shahbaz Sharif said, I was very young when...we were told that it was a burden on our shoulders. Today you all know where that burden has reached (in terms of economic growth). And now when we look at them, we feel ashamed.

Currently, Bangladesh is ahead of Pakistan in almost all indicators of the socio-economic sector.

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Mass arrests could not stop anti-Israel protests at American universities



International Desk, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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US universities have erupted in protest over Israel's military operation in the Palestinian-besieged Gaza. This pro-Palestinian movement is being suppressed even after mass arrests. Rather, as the days go by, the protests are spreading.

The news agency Reuters reported that police made mass arrests at Atlanta's Emory University amid protests. A graduation ceremony at the University of Southern California was canceled due to the protests.

Emory University officials said protesters not affiliated with the college entered campus grounds early Thursday morning. When they refused to leave, the police used chemical spray to disperse them.

According to CBS News, about 108 people were arrested at Emerson College in the city on Wednesday night local time. Earlier in the evening, 93 people were taken into police custody from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California.

Anti-Israel protests have spread to dozens of US universities within a week of starting at New York's Columbia University.

Meanwhile, a clash between protesters and police took place at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. Later, authorities said that 34 people were arrested from there. These new arrests came after massive arrests of protesters at Columbia, Yale and New York universities.

Students gathered Wednesday (April 24) to protest at the University of Southern California's Alumni Park. At this time they were stopped by the riot police. Protesters were told to leave within 10 minutes by an announcement from a police helicopter. However, the students who remained at the scene were arrested for trespassing.

The protests at the University of Southern California were reportedly peaceful at first. Later the tension spread with the presence of the police. Protesters threw water bottles at the police when they tried to arrest a woman. At this time, they kept shouting slogans - 'Let him go'. Besides, they surrounded the police officers and shouted slogans like 'I want the liberation of Palestine'.

It should be noted that on October 7, the Palestinian independence organization Hamas entered Israeli territory and carried out an ambush. 1200 people were killed. Because of this, since that day, the Israeli forces continue to attack Gaza indiscriminately. 34 thousand 305 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip in the attack that lasted for more than six months. Apart from this, there is a severe humanitarian crisis due to lack of food, water and medical equipment.

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Iran is cracking down on women who don't wear Hijab



International Desk, Barta24.com
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Iran is cracking down on women and girls who don't wear Hijab. The country has started a new campaign named 'Noor' from last April 13. Since then, the implementation of the Hijab law has started to become stricter.

Iran has strict laws on wearing the Hijab. Strict action is taken against those who break this law.

Some videos of women being assaulted have gone viral on social media. In them, it is seen that women who go out without Hijab are forcibly picked up in cars by the members of the 'Morality Police'.

A video shows a mother and daughter walking through Tehran's busiest square in the capital. At that time, they were surrounded by five female and two male members of the police. When they tried to evade arrest, they were violently beaten and taken into a car.

Dina Ghalibaf, a female student at Tehran's Shahid Beheshti University, wrote on the micro-blogging site X that she was barred from boarding the metro. When she insisted, she was taken to a room. She claimed that she was beaten and sexually harassed there.

The student was arrested a day after making such a post and taken to Evin prison.

British newspaper The Guardian spoke to some of those arrested. One of them told the media that eight members of the police surrounded her last Saturday. At that time, she was called "prostitute", "naked American prostitute" and insulted her. Apart from this, the young woman claimed that men also touched her during the arrest.



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Boeing incurs huge losses after door open incident



Special Correspondent, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Boeing lost a huge amount of money due to the opening of the doors of the Boeing aircraft of Alaska Airlines in mid-air. US aircraft manufacturer Boeing reported a loss of US dollar 343 million in the first quarter of this year (January-March).

An unused door on an Alaska Airlines Boeing Max 9 collapsed moments after takeoff from Portland, Oregon last January. Although the Alaska Airlines plane was able to land safely in this incident, questions about Boeing's safety have been raised around the world.

As a result, Boeing reduced the production of the aircraft according to their target. As a result, Boeing is forced to pay huge losses in the first quarter of this year.

After the Alaska Airlines incident, the United States Aviation Agency ordered the grounding of 171 Boeing Max 737 aircraft. In the wake of the incident, Boeing's chief immediately admitted the mistake and promised to fix the problem with 100% transparency. But even this did not save the end. Boeing's CEO was eventually forced to resign.

In order not to cut the heat of this incident, a former Boeing engineer recently talked about the manufacturing defects of the Dreamliner 787. He recommended grounding all Dreamliner aircraft worldwide. In this incident, the safety of Boeing was questioned again.

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