Tender announcement due on offshore oil and gas blocks

Tender announcement due on offshore oil and gas blocks

By Aung Shin   |   Sunday, 04 August 2013

The Ministry of Energy aims to announce the winners of a tender for 30 offshore oil and gas blocks as early as December, officials said on Friday.

Sixty-one pre-qualified companies are currently reviewing the data pertaining to the 19 deep-water and 11 shallow-water blocks at the ministry and this is expected to be completed by the middle of this month, with final proposals due by November 15, said a director from the Energy Planning Department at the ministry.

"This time the tender is receiving lots of interest from international companies," said the director, who requested anonymity. "It will be a very tough competition with all the global energy giants competing."

A total of 61 companies, including industry titans such as Total, Chevron and Daewoo, are reviewing the data in groups of four due to limited office space at the ministry.

Eleven firms from Australia and seven from India are competing, alongside firms from Europe, North America and Asia, as well as one Myanmar company. Each firm is permitted to submit a proposal for three blocks.

The director said he expects the winners to be announced in December, or early 2014 at the latest. Sanctions imposed by Western governments restricted the last round of tenders to Chinese and Thai firms, he added.

The ministry will grant licences for exploration and production for the 30 blocks.

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2013/08/07/tender-announcement-due-on-offshore-oil-and-gas-blocks/