Indian state giants sweep up in 7th open licensing round: press
India's 7th open oil and gas acreage licensing programme (OALP) has resulted in big wins for the state-owned triumvirate of ONGC, Oil India Ltd. and GAIL, which together secured eight blocks expected to garner $600mn to $700mn of investment over the next 10 years, Business Standard reported July 8.
ONGC secured three new exploration blocks in the licensing round organised by India's Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH). OIL won two licences, while GAIL has been awarded a single concession in the Rajasthan region. The 7th OALP also awarded two offshore blocks to Sun Petrochemicals, an integrated chemicals firm with head offices in Mumbai.
Following the announcement, the DGH is now taking bids for its eighth offshore licensing round. The process is open until September 6 and will open up exploration acreage spread across sedimentary basins, equating to 36,316 square km.
Two of the 8th round licences are situated onshore. Four shallow water blocks are up for grabs, as well as two deepwater and two ultra-deepwater concessions.
India operates a revenue-sharing contract model that awards licences based on the highest revenue share offered to the government. The exception is bidding for blocks in India's second category and third category sedimentary basins, which, for the time being, are exempt from revenue sharing.
Since launching its open acreage licensing program, New Delhi has awarded 134 E&P blocks which cover 244,000km2 of acreage. The licenses are situated across 19 sedimentary basins.
In a press statement, the Indian Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said: "In continuation of its zeal to accelerate E&P activities, the government has now launched the OALP Bid Round-VIII, offering 10 blocks, for international competitive bidding."