Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) is likely to win atleast half of the 20 oil and gas blocks, bids for which closed yesterday.ONGC is set to win half a dozen blocks it bid with Cairn Energy of UK and one block it bid with Cairn and ENI of Italy. The company is also likely to bag a block each in Cambay offshore and onshore block and one deepwater block in Andaman region, sources in the directorate general of hydrocarbons, which is evaluating the 69 bids received for the 20 blocks, said.Reliance Industries, which bid for 12 blocks, is sure to get both the blocks in Kerala-Konkan deep sea, where it was the sole bidder, and possibly one more block.National Thermal Power Corp, the newest PSU on the exploration and production scene, is likely to open its account with a block in north-east. Videocon is also likely to get a block in the Assam-Arakan basin while Phoneix Overseas has bid very aggressively for the Rajasthan block.Other winners of the fifth round of new exploration licensing policy (NELP) may include Oil India and Gujarat State Petroleum Corp (GSPC), sources said.All the big names including British Gas, Petronas of Malaysia, Petrobras of Brazil and British Petroleum are likely to draw blank.In all 26 foreign companies, 17 of them for the first time, bid while 21 domestic majors including new entrants like NTPC and Adani submitted offers at the close of bidding yesterday afternoon.Contracts for the blocks will be awarded by July 31 and production sharing contracts signed by October 2.
