India offers 21 upstream blocks in new licensing round

India is offering another 21 upstream oil and gas blocks in its latest licensing round, as it looks to ramp up domestic production.

There are 15 onshore, 4 shallow-water blocks and 2 ultra-deepwater blocks on offer across 11 sedimentary basins, with an area of about 35,000 km². Bids are due by 6 October and the blocks are expected to be awarded by the end of November, the oil ministry said.

Bids are expected to generate immediate exploration work commitments of around $300-400mn, the ministry said.

This will be the sixth set of blocks to be put up for bidding under the Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy's (HELP) Open Acreage Licensing Programme (OALP), which guarantees marketing and pricing freedom with a revenue-sharing model.

India has already awarded 105 blocks spanning a total area of about 157,000 km² in the last five OALP rounds. Indian private-sector resources company Vedanta won 51 of these blocks, with state-controlled Oil India and ONGC taking 25 and 24 respectively.

India is the world's third largest energy consumer, importing nearly 84pc of its crude needs.

The country's Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) reduced the number of approvals required for exploration projects last month to 18 from 37 in an attempt to develop the country's upstream sector. This is likely to reduce planning times and lead to an increase in production.

India will invest $100bn in oil and gas infrastructure by 2024 and $100bn in oil field equipment and services in the next 10 years, Laxma Reddy, DGH's additional director general of exploration, said last month.

By Sathya Narayanan