Thailand’s government expects to hold an auction for the Erawan and Bongkot natural gas fields in December after two delays, a senior government official said Nov. 7.

The government is drafting the terms of the auction and the production-sharing agreement, Veerasak Pungrassamee, director-general of the mineral fuels department told reporters, adding auction terms should be approved by November and announced in December.

The auction process is expected to take seven months, and winners will be announced in the middle of 2018, he said.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) operates the Erawan Field, while state-owned PTTEP operates the Bongot Field under licenses which are set to expire in 2022 and 2023, respectively. The areas have combined output of 2.2 billion cubic feet a day, about 76% of gas output from the Gulf of Thailand.

Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production said in a statement last week that it would participate in “the bidding process of expiring concessions in the Gulf of Thailand, including the Bongkot and Erawan concessions.”