Licensing renews oil hopes

TRINIDAD AND Tobago, and Suriname are putting 23 offshore oil and gas blocks up for bids from energy companies. It is the first time in the history of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (of which the countries are members) that so much potential oil and gas acreage has simultaneously been available and illustrates the countries' desire to compete for international exploration. Suriname's state-owned oil company, Staatsolie, which acts on behalf of the government in these matters, has 26 offshore blocks in the Guyana-Suriname Basin in its inventory and has selected what it regards as the 13 most attractive for auction. According to the US Geological Survey, the Basin has undiscovered p