India to Offer Seven CBM Blocks in Fifth Round Auction

India’s Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) will soon offer seven coal bed methane blocks under the fifth round of bidding with the Central Mine and Planning & Design Institute (CMPDI) finalising the data dossier.

A DGH official told Financial Express that the blocks would be offered in Singrauli, Sohagpur and Cambay basin areas, which mainly have lignite and bituminous coal. The official further added that methane from the blocks that would be offered under the fifth round.

The DGH has offered 33 blocks covering 17,000 km in four rounds of bidding, but only four blocks have come to production so far. The petroleum and natural gas ministry got the maximum response in the third round of bidding, when it received 54 bids against 10 blocks on offer. But with explorations not getting enough results, the demand for CBM blocks has come down, the financial daily said.

The DGH offered 8 blocks in the first round, 9 in the second round, 10 in the third round and 7 in the fourth round.