Energy firms have to submit their expressions of interest by 14 June, following which potential bidders will be picked up by the government, reported AFP.
The energy ministry has said on its website that successful bidders will be granted full rights to up to three of 19 deepwater blocks on offer.
Earlier, companies were supposed to explore onshore blocks in partnership with state oil companies, however bidders are now asked to take full control for deepwater exploration owing to high cost and technical skills required for such programmes.
The ministry said that bidders will have to sign a production sharing contract with the state-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) for 11 shallow water blocks on offer.
A MOGE official was quoted by AFP as saying that offshore and onshore blocks are not similar.
"A deep water block requires a lot of money, advanced technical skills and involves a high level of risk," the official added.
In March, the energy ministry’s assistant director Aung Kyaw Htoo told AFP that oil giants such as BP, Woodside, Shell and Chevron have shown interested in bidding.
