Syria Extends Deadline For 8 Onshore Blocks To Dec

The Syrian government has extended the deadline for the bid round for eight onshore blocks to Dec. 8 from Sept. 15, the Syrian oil ministry said on its Website.

The ministry's announcement, signed by Oil Minister Sufian Alaw, said the extension was made following a meeting with representatives of international companies in August when they "asked for more time to prepare their bids."

The ministry is offering production-sharing contracts to explore blocks 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 14, 16 and 18, located mostly on the eastern and northern parts of the country with a total area of 74,000 square kilometers. The bid round was launched in April.

Syria aims to boost its crude oil production, which has declined from 590,000 barrels a day in 2006 to 380,000 barrels a day currently. Its natural gas production stands at 25 million cubic meters a day.

International oil companies such as Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA), Total S.A. (TOT), and China National Petroleum Corp., U.K.-incorporated energy company Gulfsands Petroleum PLC (GPX.LN), Russia's Tatneft (TATN.RS) and India's ONGC Videsh are already working on oil and gas projects in the country.

-By Hassan Hafidh, Dow Jones Newswires; +962 799 831 831; hassan.hafidh@dowjones.com

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