Four companies submit 10 bids for eight oil, gas blocks

New Delhi, February 17

As many as four companies, including three state-owned, put in 10 bids for the eight oil and gas blocks on offer in India’s latest round of bidding for exploration acreage, according to the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH).

Total six out of the eight blocks on offer got single bids while there were two bidders for the remaining area, DGH said in a summary of bids received on blocks that were offered in the seventh bid round of Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP).

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) bid for five out of the eight blocks or areas offered for exploring and producing oil and gas, while Oil India Ltd (OIL) was the only bidder for the two blocks it made an offer for. GAIL was the sole bidder for the lone block on offer from Rajasthan.

ONGC was the sole bidder in three of the blocks and had Sun Petrochemicals Pvt Ltd for competition in two others, according to DGH.

The eight blocks offered in OALP-VII were spread over six sedimentary basins, five states covering 15,766 sq km area. While five blocks are onland type, two are shallow water-type and one block is ultra deep-water type.

The previous bid round, OALP-VI, too had attracted just three bidders, two being ONGC and OIL. Out of the 21 blocks or areas that were offered for exploration and production of oil and gas in OALP-VI, 18 got single bids. ONGC, India’s largest oil producer, was the sole bidder for 16 blocks. — PTI

7th round of Open Acreage Licensing Policy

• Total six out of the eight blocks on offer got single bids while there were two bidders for the remaining area, DGH said in a summary of bids received on blocks
• ONGC bid for five out of the eight blocks while Oil India Ltd was the only bidder for the two blocks. GAIL was the sole bidder for the lone block on offer from Rajasthan
• ONGC was the sole bidder in three of the blocks and had Sun Petrochemicals Pvt Ltd for competition in two others