Indian State Firms to Bid for Myanmar Oil, Gas Blocks

Three state-run Indian energy firms--ONGC Videsh Ltd., Indian Oil Corp and GAIL--will bid for eight oil and gas blocks in Myanmar, Dow Jones Newswire quoted Oil Minister M. Veerappa Moily as saying.

The minister said that the three companies could either bid jointly or on their own.

Moily’s comments come as the window closes later Friday to take part in a tender for 30 unexplored oil and gas blocks off the coast of Myanmar, Dow Jones said.

For the 19 deepwater blocks on offer, successful bidders must enter into production-sharing agreements with state-owned Myanma Oil & Gas Enterprise. For the 11 shallow-water blocks on offer, foreign bidders must work with local companies, Dow Jones said.