A Bangladesh court has overturned an injunction that barred leasing out the country's onshore gas blocks to international oil companies (IOCs), a senior energy official said on Friday. "The decision paved the way for much needed exploration by the IOCs to meet the ever growing demand for natural gas," said Mohammad Mohsin, government secretary for the energy division.

The court also discharged a petition that challenged the government's move to sign production-sharing contracts (PSC) with IOCs for onshore oil and gas exploration.

"It will also help us (government) to initiate a fresh bidding process to explore natural gas in any onshore blocks," Mohsin told Reuters. A High Court ordered a halt in 2001 to PSCs with IOCs and awarding any hydrocarbon blocks, both onshore and offshore, after a senior official sought an injunction after a massive gas field explosion in 1997.

Copyright Reuters, 2010