MYANMAR has invited foreign energy firms to explore 23 offshore oil and gas blocks, as the Southeast Asian country seeks billions of dollars in investments to tap its vast reserves.

    The offer is likely to attract interest from international oil majors after the U.S. Government last week cleared companies to invest in Myanmar, including in oil and gas, in its greatest loosening of tough sanctions so far.

    The resource-rich nation has opened up to foreign investments at a fast pace since a civilian government took over in March last year after five decades of military rule.

    According to previously undisclosed information, Myanmar is inviting foreign companies to explore and develop 17 deep-water blocks and six shallow-water blocks located in the Rakhine, Mottama and Tanintharyi offshore areas in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea.

    The offshore blocks, none of which have been explored by multinational oil companies before, will be awarded through “direct negotiations.”

    Myanmar’s state energy company Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise, or MOGE, will hold a stake of between 15 and 25 percent in each project.

    The details were disclosed in a presentation that was distributed at a Myanmar investment conference held in Singapore this week.

    The awarded firms will be granted an exploration period of up to six years, followed by a three-year tax holiday upon the start of production. (SD-Agencies)