Dhaka, March 16 -- The new government has moved to launch bid rounds offering both onshore and offshore blocks to international oil companies (IOCs) to ensure the country's future energy security through delineating new hydrocarbon reserve against the backdrop of the escalating Middle East crisis.

"We are now working to announce the bid rounds as part of the government's 180-day programme," Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD) Secretary Mohammad Saiful Islam told The Financial Express on Sunday.

Of the 47 blocks planned for offer, 21 lie in onshore areas and 26 in offshore ones, he said.

State-run Petrobangla has already sweetened further the drafts of the model production sharing contract (MPSC) to lure the IOCs in the forthco...