Covid-19: Cairn invokes force majeure on exploration; seeks relief in OALP

The ongoing countrywide lockdown, implemented to contain the spread of Covid-19, has hit the plans of Cairn Oil and Gas, compelling the country’s largest private sector oil producer to approach the government to invoke the force majeure clause. The company wants an extension of timelines for the blocks it won under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) rounds.
 

Cairn has bagged 41 blocks under the OALP Round I auction and five blocks each under Round II and Round III since 2018. In addition, it has also got two areas under Round II of the Discovered Small Field (DSF) policy. These