OALP Auction

India is likely to offer areas classified as 'no-go' areas in the tenth round of bidding for exploring and producing oil and gas in early 2025, a top oil ministry official said on Thursday. Bids for 28 oil and gas blocks offered in the ninth Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) round closes on September 21 and the 10th round is in works, the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters here. OALP-X round will happen after the Parliament approves in the ensuing winter session amendments to the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Act (ORDA) of 1948 to expand definition of mineral oils to include any naturally occurring hydrocarbon, coal-bed methane and shale gas/oil. The amendment also replaces mining lease with petroleum lease and decriminalises certain offences. "We hope that the amendments will be approved in the winter session of Parliament (likely in November/December). The changes are expected to bring confidence for the potential bidders for OALP X exploratio

The Centre is planning to bring 560,000 sqkm under oil exploration by the end of 2024

Since March 30, 2016, seven rounds of Open Acreage Licensing Programme (OALP) have been completed

State-owned ONGC, OIL and GAIL walked away with most of the eight blocks offered for exploration and production of oil and gas in the OALP 7th bid round even as the government launched the next round

Award of these blocks is likely to be completed by the end of March 2022

The seven blocks are spread over three sedimentary basins with resource potential of approximately 33 billion barrels of oil and oil equivalents of gas

In all, 18,509.69 square kilometre of area for exploration of oil and gas has been offered in the fourth bid round of Open Acreage Licensing Policy

Agarwal's company, in fact, outbid India's largest hydrocarbon producer ONGC, in a majority of the 30 blocks they were facing head-on