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$200m audit objections remain unresolved on Unocal apathy

SHARIER KHAN
Petrobangla's persistent efforts to resolve audit objections worth 200 million US dollars with Unocal, which was sold to Chevron-Texaco on Monday for 16.5 billion dollars, have gone unanswered because of the US company's indifferent attitude.
These objections mainly arose out of budget over-runs and expenditures outside of budgets between 1995 and 2003, Petrobangla sources said.
Sources say Petrobangla's efforts to increase pressure on
Unocal, including through regular reminders, have failed to resolve the issue, as Unocal insists the expenditures were undertaken in accordance with the production sharing contract (PSC).
Petrobangla, moreover, does not want a serious dispute with the Unocal because it is a major gas supplier, sources added. Presently the company supplies 250 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) gas from Jalalabad and Moulavibazar fields, against the country's consumption rate of 1450 mmcfd of gas.
But now that Unocal has been taken over by US giant Chevron-
Texaco, Petrobangla believes the audit objections should be cleared as soon as possible.
"The government must take a position on the issue now. Otherwise it will become more complex, like the unpaid Magurchhara blowout compensation issue," noted an official, adding, that when Unocal had arrears with Petrobangla, the US government took a position and put pressure on the government to pay the arrears many times.
According to Petrobangla's books, Unocal spent a total of $380 FROM PAGE 1
million, which is cost-recoverable, in blocks 12, 13 and 14 between 1995 and 2003. Of this sum, Petrobangla's audit raised objections on $200 million.
On the other hand, Petrobangla has so far cleared $175 million to Unocal against its cost-recoverable investment in the Jalalabad gas field.
According to a breakdown of the total cost-recoverable expenditure, Unocal spent $192 million to develop the field, which was given to Unocal's predecessor Occidental as an incentive. The field was discovered in the early nineties by a corrupt and failed Canadian company called Scimitar.
The Jalalabad field started gas production in 1999 with a reserve of 1.6 trillion cubic feet, and presently produces 180 million cubic feet a day (mmcfd) of gas -- the majority free gas for Petrobangla as per the PSC.
Unocal spent another $97 million in block 12 for a seismic survey, a three-dimensional survey, drilling of exploratory wells and discovery of the Bibiyana gas field in 1999 -- to date Unocal's biggest find in Bangladesh.
Unocal has committed $230 million in investment to develop the field, which is expected to come online in 2007. For exploration activities in blocks 13 and 14, Unocal spent $41 million.
In the same blocks, Unocal discovered the Moulavibazar gas field, which came online last month after an investment of $49 million.
The Moulavibazar gas field is located in the same geological area where the Magurchhara gas field explosion took place in 1997 due to the negligent operations of US company Occidental, which later sold its concerns to Unocal.
"Unocal however does not claim
the cost of the Magurchhara gas field as cost recoverable. Therefore the expenditure of $380 million excludes the Magurchhara field," said a competent Petrobangla source.
"We don't want a dispute with Unocal. We can settle the issues easily and very amicably," he said, citing the example of how British company Cairn dealt with similar situation.
Petrobangla had audit objections worth $330 million with Cairn and Shell for their operation in blocks 15 and 16, most of which deal with expenditures outside budget. Petrobangla itself was partially at fault for not properly handling all the budget issues.
Cairn is now fully cooperating with Petrobangla on the issue and has settled the majority of the audit objections by regularising the budget and reducing some of its claims. "Unocal can follow that example," the official quipped.