The OALP-IX round covered 136,596 sq. km across onland, shallow, and ultra-deep water basins.
The Oil Ministry has signed contracts with ONGC and Ol India (OIL), for a cumulative 20 blocks out of the 28 auctioned in the ninth bidding round of the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) policy.
The contracts with the winning bidders were signed on Tuesday in the presence of Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
With India currently reliant on imports for 88 per cent of its crude oil and 50 per cent of its natural gas needs, the urgency for domestic E&P has never been greater, the Minister emphasised.
Out of the total 20, ONGC and OIL individually secured 11 and six blocks, respectively, while additional 3 blocks have been won collectively by the two state-run exploration and production (E&P) firms.
Cairn Oil & Gas secured seven blocks in the ninth bidding round, emerging as the private player with the largest number of bids secured. The Vedanta Group company had submitted bids for all 28 blocks on offer in the ninth round.
Besides, a consortium of ONGC-BP-Reliance Industries (RIL) won a block in the Saurashtra basin. Recently, the London-headquartered BP signed an agreement with ONGC to enhance Mumbai High oil field production.
Ninth OALP Round
The OALP Round-IX covered 136,596 sq. km across 28 blocks. The distribution of these blocks included Onland: 13,875.19 sq. km, Shallow Waters: 26,648.14 sq. km, and Ultra-Deep Waters: 96,073.12 sq. km.
A total of 16 blocks fall in Category-I basins and 12 blocks in Category-II basins. Category-I basins have proven hydrocarbon resources with established commercial production, whereas Category-II basins have contingent resources that have yet to be converted to recoverable reserves and commercial production.
Of these, 23 blocks were carved out by operators through the EoI process, while five blocks were carved out by the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH).
In a statement, Cairn said four blocks are onshore, while 3 are shallow water blocks in the hydrocarbon basins of Cambay, Saurashtra, and Mumbai. The strategic addition of these blocks will enable it to invest in increasing oil and gas E&P on the West Coast. Its portfolio now expands to 69 blocks covering over 73,000 sq km.
A spokesperson for BP said this marks the company’s foray into India’s upstream E&P space. BP has a 30 per cent partnership in the consortium along with ONGC (40 per cent) and RIL (30 per cent).
DSF Bid Round
The ceremony also included the launch of two bidding rounds-Discovered Small Fields (DSF) Bid Round IV and Special CBM Bid Round 2025.
In the DSF Bid Round IV, a total of 55 discoveries across 9 Contract Areas with around 260 million tonnes of oil equivalent (MTOE) In-Place (2P, O+OEG) are on offer.
The round offers many incentives to the bidders, including bundling discoveries into a comprehensive package, including a rationalisation period, extended early monetisation incentives, swapping of the bid work programme, and a reduced revenue share.
The Special Coal Bed Methane (CBM) Bid Round 2025 offers investment opportunities in the unconventional hydrocarbon segment.
In this round, two Blocks are on offer in West Bengal, with a total area of 330 sq. km under Basin Category III and a prognosticated CBM resource of 10 billion cubic meters (BCM). Another block is on offer in Gujarat, with a total area of 189 sq. km under Basin Category I and a prognosticated CBM Resource of 24 BCM.
Published on April 16, 2025
