The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has secured seven oil and gas exploration blocks out of 11 offered for bidding in the latest licensing round.
The remaining four oil and gas exploration blocks have been bagged by Oil India (OIL).
The government had offered 11 blocks for exploration and production of oil and gas in the fifth bid round under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OLAP).
In all 12 bids, seven bids by ONGC and four by OIL were received for the 11 blocks put on offer at the close of the bidding on 30 June 2020. Invenire Petrodyne was the only private bidder for one block.
ONGC won all six blocks where it was the sole bidder and also one block where Invenire Petrodyne had placed bids.
The 11 blocks under OALP-V are spread across eight sedimentary basins and include eight on land blocks — six in Category-I basin and one each in Category-II and -III basins; two shallow-water blocks — one each in Category-I and -II basins; and one ultra-deepwater block — Category-I basin).
The OALP-V is expected to generate immediate exploration work commitment of about USD 400-450 million.
In OALP-IV, the bidding round had seen just eight bids coming in for seven blocks on offer. ONGC had secured all the seven oil and gas blocks on offer.
Prior to OALP-V, the Centre had awarded 94 blocks in four OALP bid rounds in the last two-and-a-half years. These 94 blocks cover an exploratory area of about 1,36,800 sq km over 16 Indian sedimentary basins.
In the latest bid round, around 19,800 sq km of the area was put on offer. Unlike previous rounds, where blocks were awarded to companies offering a maximum share of oil and gas to the government, blocks in little or unexplored Category-II and -III basins are now given out to companies offering to do maximum exploration programme.
An area of 1,36,800 sq km has already been awarded under OALP bid round I, II, III and IV. The OALP-V blocks would add a further 19,800 sq km.
