Govt invites bids for 70 oil blocks under Nelp-VIII

The government on Thursday invited bids for 70 exploration blocks under the eighth round of New Exploration Licensing Policy (Nelp-VIII). Domestic and global oil & gas exploration firms can submit their bids by August 10, petroleum secretary RS Pandey said. “We have offered 24 deepwater blocks, 28 shallow water blocks and 18 onland blocks under Nelp-VIII,” he said. The ministry may also consider offering another 40-50 blocks in this round, if it gets better investor response. Oil ministry also announced the launch of 10 blocks under the fourth round of coal bed methane (CBM-IV) for extraction of gas from below coal fields. Mr Pandey said that the global meltdown or volatility in global oil prices should not stop economic activities like exploration of oil and gas resources. “The most effective antidote for slowdown is generation of economic activities. Besides, investors take a long-term view, while undertaking exploration activities,” he said. “Everyone knows that the current crisis will not last forever...By the time bids are finalised — which may take eight to nine months — things should improve,” he said. Discoveries of oil and gas from Barmer and Krishna-Godavari basin have put India in global hydrocarbon map, he said. “Reliance Industries has recently started gas production from its KG-D6 block. This will also attract investors to Indian sedimentary basins,” he added. India had offered 57 blocks in Nelp-VII last year and awarded 44 to companies, such as BHP Billiton and Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC). In the first six rounds, 162 blocks were awarded with an investment commitment of over $8 billion. The 70 blocks offered under Nelp-VIII covers a sedimentary area of about 164,000 sq km. The 18 onland blocks are in Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur and West Bengal. Out of the 24 deepwater blocks, only one block has been offered in the KG basin, while 18 are located in Andaman. There are four blocks in the Kerala-Konkan areas, while one block is offered in the Mumbai deepwater. The 10 CBM blocks are located in states of Jharkhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Assam, Maharastra and Tamil Nadu.