International oil companies have been invited by China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) to participate in a tender to bid for 33 oil and gas exploration blocks offshore China.

The blocks cover a total of 126,108 sq km (48,690 sq miles), with four – Blocks 25/12, 33/02, 41/14 and 04/02 – located in the East China Sea Basin, and another four (Blocks 24/17, 14/18, 11/34 and 19/11) in the South Yellow Sea Basin.

Seventeen of the 33 exploration blocks on offer in the tender are in the Pearl River Mouth Basin (East). They include: 14/21, 16/15, 16/28, 27/04, 28/06, 28/16, 29/31, 29/11, 29/24, 41/12, 42/10, 43/08, 44/07, 55/05, 15/33, 16/25 and 42/12.

A further five exploration blocks – 53/32, 53/36, 64/05, 64/03 and 64/26 – are available in the Qiong Dongnan Basin, while Blocks 22/16 and 22/11 in the Beibu Gulf Basin and Block 50/13 in the Yinggehai Basin are the remaining permits up for grabs.

Data rooms are open in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Zhanjiang, and will close at the end of this year.

CNOOC added that interested companies have to submit their bids by 30 April, 2015.