The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has launched the seventh bid round under the Open Acreage Licensing Programme (OALP).
Eight blocks are being bid out under the round, said an official statement Tuesday. These include five on-land blocks (four in Category-I Basin 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 would generate an immediate exploration work commitment of around $ 300-400 million,” the statement said.
These blocks are likely to be awarded by the end of March 2022. Successful award of Round-VII blocks would add further 15,766 square kilometre (sq. km) of exploration acreage and cumulative acreage under OALP will be increased to 207,692 sq km.
