Oil ministry launches seventh round for oil & gas block auctions

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has launched the seventh bid round under the Open Acreage Licensing Programme (OALP). An official statement said eight blocks are being bid under the present round. These include five onland blocks (four in Category-I Basins and one in Category-III Basin), two shallow water blocks (both in Category-I Basin) and one ultra deep water block (Category-I Basin). 

“It is expected that OALP Round VII will generate an immediate exploration work commitment of around $300-400 million,” the statement said.

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