Nigeria invites bids for 12 new oil blocks, promises fair process

LAGOS, May 8 (Reuters) - Nigeria is inviting bids from international investors with financial and technical capacity for 12 onshore and deepwater oil blocks, its oil regulator said in a speech yesterday at a global oil conference in Houston, Texas. Africa's biggest oil producer opened this year's licensing round on April 29 seeking to deepen exploitation of the country's estimated 37.5 billion barrels of crude oil and 209.26 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves. "Nigeria is committed to conducting the licensing round in a fair, competitive and transparent manner...