The deal with Niko that was made bypassing the rules and regulations should be scrapped in view of its horrendous performance, causing massive losses of gas resources.

Energy experts expressed these views at a roundtable on "the future of mineral resources" held in the capital yesterday.

Parliamentarians, intellectuals and business leaders were among participants at the roundtable where energy ministry adviser Mahmudur Rahman was the chief guest. Bangla daily Manabzamin and Association for Social Advancement (Asa), an NGO, jointly organised it.

Most speakers said the government should have awarded marginal gas fields like the one at Tengratila through Production Sharing Contract (PSC) to ensure efficiency and safety in the sector but it gave the contract to Niko through a shady a joint venture agreement with Bapex.

Niko was found disqualified to operate in Bangladesh as per the government's technical evaluation in 1997, they recalled.

Professor Badrul Imam of geology department at Dhaka University said, "Blowout in a relief well (as at Tengratila) is very rare. I have not heard of such blowouts anywhere in the world."

Niko should have been very careful after the first blowout in January but it was not, he said.

"I do not know what made the government award the gas field to Niko when national petroleum exploration company Bapex itself had the expertise and experience in drilling such gas fields," Badrul said.

With two blowouts, Tengratila gas field has now become very vulnerable as many geological pockets of the field have developed links to the main gas reservoir, making it highly risky for any company to drill a well there, the expert noted.

He urged the government to seriously consider cancelling the deal with Niko.

BNP lawmaker and member of the parliamentary committee on power and energy Shakhawat Hossain pointed out that the joint venture agreement on Tengratila gas field has no provisions for compensation.

"Before awarding any deal to a foreign company, the government should prioritise the interest of Bapex," he added.

Mahmudur Rahman claimed the contract with Niko was made during Awami League rule.

He also said it is easy to get compensation from Niko. "We can block payment for purchase of gas from Niko's Feni field and claim the compensation."

But former Petrobangla chairman and DU geology department Chairman Dr Hossain Monsur pointed said the Niko contract was drafted in February 2003 and signed in October. He however said the process of the deal began during the AL rule.

Ousted state minister for energy AKM Mosharraf Hossain played a key role in making Bapex sign the joint venture agreement through which an unexplored gas field has been awarded to Niko in violation of the government policy that such fields should be awarded through PSC, Monsur said.

He termed the Niko deal a wrong decision.

Prof Tamim of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) said the blowouts at Tengratila are just a part of mismanagement in the energy sector.

Daily Samakal Editor Golam Sarwar suggested the government should place in parliament all documents of the contracts on energy with foreign companies for review to ensure their transparency.

Shafiqul Haque Chowdhury of Asa stressed immediate compensation for affected people of Tengratila.

Those present at the roundtable included Jatiya Party leader Anwar Hossain Manju MP, former energy minister Ziauddin Bablu, Prothom Alo Editor Motiur Rahman, News Today Editor Reazuddin Ahmed, Manabzamin Chief Editor Motiur Rahman Chowdhury, Sangbad Executive Editor Manzurul Ahsan Bulbul and top business leaders Abdul Awal Mintoo, Yusuf Abdullah Harun and Kutubuddin Ahmed.