Govt postpones NELP-VII bid date to April 25

The government has postponded the last date for submission of bids for the 57 oil and gas exploration blocks it plans to offer for auction under the seventh round of the New Exploration & Licensing Policy (NEPL-VII) to April 25 from April 11.

"The promotional roadshow in Singapore will be held on March 28 and in Perth on March 31. This leaves very little time for companies to evaluate data and take a bid. So, the bid closing date has been postponed," said AK Jain, Joint Secretary (Exploration), ministry of petroleum and natural gas.

The government plans to award the blocks to winning bidders by July-August.