Dhaka, Oct 1 (IANS): The Bangladeshi government has extended the deadline to December for submitting bids for dozens of offshore oil and gas blocks.

The extension, announced recently by the state-owned Petrobangla (Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation), is aimed at providing international companies with a more accommodating timeline to prepare and submit proposals for 24 offshore blocks spread across 15 deep and nine shallow waters, Xinhua news agency reported.

Petrobangla in a notice said it extended the bid submission deadline to December 9, 2024 -- a three-month extension from the initial deadline of September 9.

The time extension notice posted on the Petrobangla website also mentioned that all other terms and conditions of the bidding notice issued earlier will remain unchanged.

Petrobangla Chairman Zanendra Nath Sarker expressed the hope that more multinational companies will be able to join the bidding for the exploration of oil and gas in the Bay of Bengal following the extension of the deadline for submitting bids.

In a promotional seminar on May 8 this year, Petrobangla told reporters that seven international oil companies purchased bid documents, showing their eagerness to invest in oil and gas exploration in the Bay of Bengal.