Bahrain accepts bid by Texaco for oil exploration

MANAMA, Bahrain -- Bahrain's government said Sunday it had accepted the offers from U.S. oil company Texaco Inc. and Malaysia's Petronas for offshore oil and gas exploration and production, the official Gulf News Agency reported.

The announcement came after a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheik Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, who is also the chairman of the Supreme Oil Council, the agency reported.

It said the accepted bids had been the best offers, but gave no further details.

The government said in March that it was inviting tenders from international oil companies to bid for three new exploration sites. The move follows a ruling by the International Court of Justice in March, which resolved a 62-year-old maritime border dispute with Qatar.

Bahrain produces about 37,000 barrels a day of crude oil and receives an additional 140,000 barrels a day from the offshore Abu Safa field it shares with Saudi Arabia.