The Central Government on Thursday (9th April) launched the country's biggest auction of oil and gas exploration blocks offering 70 zones for bidding to domestic and international companies under its eighth round of the New Exploration and Licensing Policy (NELP-VIII). Along with this the government also offered for bidding 10 areas for extraction of coal bed methane (CBM) gas from below the coal fields under CBM-IV.

 

Speaking at a press conference Petroleum secretary RS Pandey said that, the government would offer 24 deep-sea blocks, 28 shallow water blocks and 18 onland blocks for bidding under NELP-VIII. Bidding for CBM-IV and NELP-VIII rounds will close on August 10, 2009. Of the blocks offered so far, 49 oil and gas discoveries have been made in Cambay onland, North East Coast and Krishna Godavari deep-water areas, asserting over 600 million tonnes of oil and equivalent gas reserves.

 

Seeking a cut in oil import India so far has awarded 203 oil and gas blocks in the previous seven rounds of NELP with over $11 billion committed in exploration. In the first six NELP rounds, 162 areas with an investment commitment of $ 8.33 billion have been awarded. Out of the $8.33 billion, $3.887 billion has already been spent by oil and gas companies till March 2007.