• The block was awarded to Vedanta's Cairn Oil & Gas in October 2018 and is one of the 41 Blocks awarded to it in OALP-I round of bidding
• Further evaluation is being carried out to assess potential commerciality of the discovery, said the company

New Delhi: Vedanta's Cairn Oil & Gas has made an oil discovery in a block in Barmer district of Rajasthan which it had secured under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) bid round in 2018. The oil discovery is located close to Cairn's other prominent oilfield in the same desert and has been named 'Durga,' said Vedanta on Monday. In a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges, Vedanta said, "… we wish to inform you that the Company has notified the Management Committee, DGH and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on February 21, 2022 of an Oil Discovery (named 'Durga') in its exploratory well WM-Basal DD Fan-1 drilled in OALP Block RJ-ONHP-2017/1 in Barmer District of Rajasthan."

"The approval of Management Committee has also been sought. The Block was awarded to the Company in October 2018 and is one of the 41 Blocks awarded to it in OALP-I round of bidding. The Company holds 100 percent participating interest in the block," said Vedanta in a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges on Monday.

3rd oil discovery under OALP portfolio: Vedanta

Durga-1 (earlier WM-Basal DD Fan-1) is the second well drilled in the Block RJ-ONHP-2017/1 to a depth of 2615m MDRT, said Vedanta. This is the third hydrocarbon discovery notified by Cairn Oil & Gas under the OALP portfolio. During the drilling of the well, four hydrocarbon zones were encountered in the Dharvi Dungar (DD) formation of Late Paleocene to Early Eocene age, Vedanta told the bourses.

"Further evaluation is being carried out to assess potential commerciality of the discovery," said the company.

Backdrop

In order to cut India's dependence on crude oil imports and arrest the declining domestic production, the government has been keen on increasing the participation of the private sector in oil and gas exploration and production. The OALP bid rounds were launched with a view to achieve the same. However, after the first three rounds, OALP has failed to garner interest from the private sector. After bagging a total of 51 blocks in OALP round I, II and III, Vedanta has also stayed away from the subsequent bidding rounds announced under the regime. 

(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Google News. Click here to follow. Also, join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram. You may also follow us on Twitter here and stay updated.)