India Further Extends Deadline in 5th Bidding Round
The Indian government has further pushed back the deadline for bids for 11 oil and gas blocks in its 5th licensing round to an unspecified date due to the country's ongoing lockdown, its upstream regulator, the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, said on March 31 in a statement.
The round opened in January and was due to close on March 18 but, earlier this month was extended till April 16. The blocks on offer are spread across eight basins in six states: eight are onshore and three are offshore – two covering shallow and one ultra-deep waters. Fresh dates will be announced soon, DGH said.
Meanwhile, the expression of interest cycle for the sixth round, which was to end on March 31, and seventh round, which was to end on July 31, has been merged. Bidding round would be launched based on the expression of interests received till July 31, 2020, DGH said.
India has awarded 94 blocks in licensing rounds over the past two and a half years, in an aggressive push to bolster investment in its upstream sector.