India to Auction 14 Oil, Gas Blocks
India will January 7 inaugurate the auction process for 14 oil and gas blocks under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) bid round-2, upstream regulator Directorate General of Hydrocarbon said January 4 on Twitter.
Country’s oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan will launch the auction process in New Delhi. The 14 oil and gas blocks measure 29,333 km2 in area, according to DGH. Bidding for the blocks will start January 8.
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The OALP was launched by Indian oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan in June 2017, saying that the aim was to accelerate exploration activities in the country since investors can express their interest in an area that they feel has prospects without waiting for formal bidding. That means companies are allowed to put in an expression of interest for prospecting of oil and gas in any area that is presently not under any production or exploration licence.
Indian private sector firm Vedanta was awarded the highest number of oil and gas blocks under the recently OALP round-1.