India Offers 23 Oil, Gas Blocks for Bidding
India on February 10 launched the third round of Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP), under which over 31,000 km2 area will be available for exploration, India’s oil ministry said February 10.
In this round 23 blocks will be up for grabs, including five coalbed methane blocks. A total of 19 blocks are onland (including five CBM blocks), three in shallow water and one in deep water.
Following the contract signing of 55 blocks under OALP bid round-I, the government launched OALP bid round-II on January 7, 2019 offering 14 blocks. With the launch of the third bidding round, more than 1,20,000 km2 of area has now been made available for exploration in last one year, the ministry said.
According to the ministry, the OALP adopts all features of Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) - reduced royalty rates, no oil cess, uniform licensing system, marketing and pricing freedom, revenue sharing model, and exploration rights on all retained area for full contract life. OALP-III will run concurrently with OALP-II.
The last date for bidding is April 10.