Government Extends Deadline for OALP Round IX Bids Submission to May

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) has announced an extension of the bid submission date for the Open Acreage Licensing Programme (OALP) bidding round IX. Initially launched by Oil Minister H S Puri on January 3, the bidding round's submission deadline has been moved from February 29 to May 15, 2024.

This latest round offers 8 blocks spread across 0.42 lakh sq km for exploration and production (E&P) of hydrocarbons. Among these blocks, three are located in the Cauvery basin, two each in Saurashtra and Assam Shelf, and one in the Cambay basin. Additionally, six blocks fall under Category-I basins, which have proven hydrocarbon resources, while the remaining two are in Category-II, containing contingent resources yet to be converted for commercial production.

In the ninth OALP round, three blocks each are designated for Ultra Deep-Water (27,154 sq.km) and Onland (3,666 sq.km), with two blocks allocated for Shallow Water (11,039 sq.km).

Previously, in January, state-run firms Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India (OIL) secured eight of the 10 oil and gas blocks offered under the eighth round of OALP. Additionally, a consortium of Reliance Industries (RIL) and BP, along with Sun Petrochemicals, each secured a block. ONGC secured the highest with seven blocks, while OIL secured one block.

The preceding seven OALP Bid Rounds led to the award of 134 blocks, covering approximately 2,07,691 sq km, to leading E&P companies. With the recent award of 10 more blocks under Round VIII, a total of 144 exploratory blocks have been awarded under the HELP regime, spanning an area of 2,42,055 sq km.

HBL