The UAE emirate of Ras al-Khaimah (RAK) has announced the launch of its first oil licensing round.

The 2018 licensing round offers seven oil blocks in total – four shallow water offshore blocks and three onshore blocks – covering almost the entire emirate.

The emirate’s government-owned oil and gas firm RAK Gas is managing the licensing round.

The RAK Government has announced the creation of the ‘Ras al-Khaimah Petroleum Authority’, a regulatory body responsible for overseeing the licensing tendering process and ongoing management of concession rights.

The blocks on offer include: prospective exploration opportunities, an undeveloped oil discovery, and a mature gas condensate redevelopment opportunity.

There is access to existing petroleum infrastructure, including pipelines and oil and gas processing facilities, as well as to international oil markets and local gas markets.

The petroleum rights will be governed by a new Exploration and Production (E&P) Sharing Agreement. RAK Gas expects to receive E&P bids in November.

“All offshore blocks have recently been covered by a new multi-client broadband 3D seismic survey which is available for viewing,” said Nishant Dighe, CEO of RAK Gas.