More than a dozen international energy players, including US-based majors, are said to have shown interest in the round.

However, the head of analysts Wood Mackenzie’s Asia upstream ­research team, Craig McMahon, said it does not expect many of the interested companies to bid for the blocks on offer because of the low gas price on offer.

Indian state players or companies that are prepared to take a longer-term view are most likely to get involved, he told ­delegates at CWC’s Myanmar ­Upstream conference.