The Ministry of Energy and the Environment will be launching its 2007 Offshore E&P Licensing Round with a presentation at the Sandy Lane Club House, Sandy Lane, St James. It starts at 3 p.m.

This event will be followed by an international launch at the Hilton Post Oak in Houston, Texas, on Wednesday, June 27.

The Offshore Bid Round is an exercise designed to divide the offshore concessions into blocks within the potential hydrocarbon bearing regions around Barbados. This will provide oil companies with an opportunity to bid on areas which they believe may be of commercial importance to hydrocarbon exploration.

Twenty open blocks located on the shelf and in deepwater areas in the northeast Caribbean deformed belt have been offered in the bid round.

Further information on this process may be obtained by contacting the Ministry of Energy and the Environment or checking the website www.energy.gov.bb. (BGIS)