UPDATE 1-Yemen accepts 25 bids for offshore oil blocks

SANAA Jan 8 (Reuters) - Yemen has accepted 25 of 30 bids from international companies that it received for exploration rights in 11 offshore oil blocks, the country's oil ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Arabian Peninsula's poorest country offered the blocks as part of plan to reverse its declining oil output and boost production to around 500,000 barrels per day from about 330,000 bpd in 2007.

Companies accepted in the bidding round, Yemen's fourth, included U.S. major Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), France's Total (TOTF.PA), Norway's Statoil (STL.OL) and Spain's Repsol (REP.MC), according to the statement.

The winning bids will be announced on July 30, the ministry said. Bids were due in on Jan. 7.

Yemen's oil output began to decline in 2004 after reaching a plateau of 436,000 bpd. (Reporting by Mohamed Sudam, writing by Simon Webb, editing by Anthony Barker)