Century, the drilling contractor, started dismantling a rig in Moulvibazar gas field of Unocal on Saturday to bring it to Tengratila, a Niko official said. It may take around a week to shift the rig to Tengratila after pulling it down, he added.

Century is expected to start drilling the second relief well on July 25. Its staff has already started earthwork with excavator at the proposed spot for the new relief well.

Meanwhile, energy ministry adviser Mahmudur Rahman yesterday reiterated that if Niko refuses to pay compensation for gas loss in the Tengratila blowouts, the government will block the payment for purchase of gas from Niko-Bapex's Feni gas field.

"The government may block the payment for gas purchased from Feni gas field to adjust the compensation," Rahman told the press. If necessary, Bangladesh is ready to fight Niko at any international court, he added.

ENERGY ADVISER'S WARNING TO NIKO
Talking to the press at his Board of Investment (BoI) office, Mahmudur Rahman yesterday said the government expects Niko to begin paying compensation for the gas loss from the first week of the next month.

"We will start formal compensation talks with the Canadian company after receiving the preliminary loss assessment reports by the investigation teams. We will get it by the end of this month," Rahman, the newly appointed adviser to the energy ministry, told The Daily Star.

The ministry has formed two committees to assess the gas loss and environmental damage caused by the two rounds of blowout on January 7 and June 24 in Tengratila gas field.

However, he ruled out the cancellation of Niko's contract. "If we cancel the contract, who will control the fire of the well? Presently, it's most important that Niko starts drilling the relief well as a remedial measure for the blowout," he explained.

NIKO HIRES DRILLING FIRM FOR RELIEF WELL
Niko Resources (Bangladesh) Ltd President Qasim Sharif in a press release yesterday said the company has begun mobilisation of a drilling rig from Moulvibazar gas field of Unocal. The rig owned by Century will be directly transported by a barge to the Tengratila drilling site.

"We have also been able to recover a significant amount of the major equipment we mobilised for the first relief well. The equipment has been shifted to a safe location. We will be able to use the equipment for the blowout control operation after we drill the second relief well," he said.

"We have submitted our proposal to Bapex, Petrobangla and the government on drilling the second relief well and control the blowout in the Chhatak [Tengratila] gas field. The drilling operation will commence after we receive the approval," Sharif said.

He said Niko has paid Tk 1.91 crore as assistance to the affected villagers living in the vicinity of Chhatak gas field. "In addition, we are continuing to pay Tk 8 lakh a month to the affected villagers of the area," he added.

DEMANDS, PROTESTS
Tengratila Dabi Aday Sangram Parishad (Tengratila association to realise compensation) yesterday alleged irregularity in listing the people affected by the January 7 explosion who would be given compensation today. Parishad leaders said only 165 of the 616 families living within the one kilometre radius of the January blowout spot are on the list prepared by the local administration.

They said 118 businessmen made the list, though there are only 85 shops at Tengratila Bazaar near the gas field. At a rally in the gas field, they alleged inclusion of fake names and exclusion of many genuine names in the list of compensation recipients.

The Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) also held a rally in the gas field yesterday afternoon demanding immediate legal measures against Niko Resources (Bangladesh) Ltd that, it said, "destroyed gas resources worth thousands of crores of taka."

Earlier on Saturday morning, Sunamganj Bachao, a citizens forum of Sunamganj district, held a view-exchange meeting of cross-section people at Sunamganj Pourashava auditorium. The speakers in the meeting called upon the government to take immediate steps against Niko, which has proved its inefficiency by causing two major disasters in only six months.

The forum will organise a protest rally in the district town on Thursday afternoon. It also may announce a hartal from the rally, said a source.

Sylhet Bibhag Unnayan Sangram Parishad, a Dhaka-based forum of people hailing from Sylhet Division, also held a rally at Court Point in Sylhet yesterday afternoon, after a fact-finding trip to Tengratila. The forum had organised a 'long march' from Dhaka to Tengratila on Saturday and returned to Sylhet yesterday.

The speakers at the rally protested the government's failure to stop destruction of national gas resources. They also alleged that some powerful quarters within the government are active to protect Niko.

They demanded of the government to scrap what they said was unacceptable contract signed with 'such an irresponsible company' within a week. Other wise, the forum announced, it would launch a tough agitation.