July 16, 2006	Sunday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 19, 1427

DHAKA, July 15: Bangladesh will seek bids from overseas energy companies to explore for oil and gas in the Bay of Bengal after a court removed an obstacle blocking agreements with them, an official said on Saturday.

Last Thursday, Bangladesh's High Court lifted an injunction preventing state-owned energy firm, Petrobangla, from signing production-sharing contracts with other oil companies, company chairman Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said.

“We are now free to open bids for offshore oil and gas exploration. We have done the paperwork and will now seek bids from overseas companies within one to two months' time,” Bhuiyan told AFP.