The tender, which offers exploration rights under improved terms, opens on 30 October in Rabat and closes at the end of April. The decision to launch a bidding round at this time is based on the interpretation of 7750 kilometres of seismic data, which was shot earlier this year, said Amina Benkhadra, Onarep's director general. The seismic data provides good indication of prospective deep-water and shallow-water plays.