KOLKATA (miningweekly.com) – Expecting greater response from international oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) majors, the Indian government has extended by a month the last date for submission of bids for 55 oil and gas blocks under the newly framed Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP).
Government officials said that several global E&Ps, including six companies based in the US, Canada and Singapore, have approached the government seeking an extension of the April 4 bidding deadline. In response, the deadline has been extended to May 2.
The bidding for the 55 oil and gas blocks has been split into two, with submission of expression of interest (EoI) in the first round, followed by formal bids. Government officials said that six companies had so far submitted their EoIs and since more companies have shown interest, the bidding cutoff date has been extended.
The sources said that the extension would also enable the government to hold more road-shows to market the blocks on offer under OALP with a couple more being planned in Singapore over the next month.
The liberalised OALP programme would offer successful bidders a single licence for all hydrocarbons under simplified revenue sharing contracts with full marketing and pricing freedom. The operators with winning bids would have the option to choose between a petroleum operations contract or a reconnaissance contract. The petroleum operations contract will have eight years for exploration and 20 years for development and production, while the reconnaissance contract will have a validity of three years.
The option of migrating from a reconnaissance contract to petroleum operations contract too will be available to successful bidders.
Under the new policy framework, of the total sedimentary area of 2.14-million square kilometres, 2.7-million square kilometres would be on offer under OALP in the first stage, including 1.5-million square kilometres onshore and 1.2-million square kilometres offshore.
Meanwhile, in a related development and offering an olive branch to national government E&P companies, the government has offered to hold official consultations with ONGC and Oil India Limited before auctioning discovered oil and gas fields to private investors.
The government’s move in identifying 60 small and discovered oil and gas fields, which were currently held by government companies, for auction, and handing over to private investors, had raised hackles and objections from government companies and put these companies in a face-off with upstream regulator, the Directorate General for Hydrocarbons.