The GTCL tender was opened in February, but the Petrobangla chairman had asked Chevron for this job in December last year.

Muktadir Ali said Hyundai had been 'unresponsive' when tenders were floated last year. On the other hand, Chevron installing a compressor at Muchai area would improve gas supplies by 50-60 million cubic feet.

He said Hyundai's compressor comes with a price tag of $44.47 million but Chevron's offer costs $52.7 million and its machines are bigger.

Then he pointed out that the Hyundai compressor had 35,000 horsepower (HP) to Chevron's 45,000 HP, with the higher horsepower justifying the price tag.

However, quoting unnamed Petrolbangla officials, the newspaper said: 'Spending $52 million for a compressor to increase gas flow of 50-60 mmcfd is not justified. Besides, an ADB consultant has determined that the compressor would actually increase gas flow by merely 9 mmcfd.'