YANGON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - About 20 companies dropped out ofthe final phase of bidding for oil and gas blocks off Myanmar'scoast, a senior energy ministry official said.
While 61 companies were qualified to bid, only about 40submitted applications by the Nov. 15 deadline, according to theofficial who declined to name the companies.
"Processing is still going on," he said on condition ofanonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media.
Myanmar is offering 11 shallow and 19 deep-sea blocks. Thosechosen to develop shallow blocks will be required to work withlocal partners, while foreign companies can develop deep-seablocks on their own as few local companies have experience inthe sector.
Among the 79 companies that bid in the first stage in Aprilwere Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Chevron Corp,ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil Corp, France's TotalSA, Thailand's PTT Exploration and ProductionPLC(PTTEP), and Malaysia's Petroliam NasionalBHD(Petronas).
Total, PTTEP and Petronas have "a considerable edge overnewcomers", because they already have experience andinfrastructure in Myanmar, according to an Oct 21 analysis byVDB Loi, a law firm that has advised three "super majors" oninvestment in oil and gas exploration in Myanmar.
For the first time in Myanmar, the winners would be requiredto perform Environment Impact Assessments before final approvalfrom the country's investment commission, the energy ministryofficial said.