• A total of 11 blocks in 8 sedimentary basins covering a total acreage of 19,789.04 sq km has been awarded under OALP Bid Round 5

• ONGC has been awarded seven blocks, whereas four blocks have been awarded to OIL

New Delhi: Speaking at the signing of contracts for 11 oil and gas blocks offered under the OALP Bid Round-V, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan urged ONGC and OIL to farm out these areas so as to bring in international players into exploration activities and run the business in a professional manner. A total of 11 blocks in 8 sedimentary basins covering a total acreage of 19,789.04 sq km has been awarded under OALP Bid Round 5, with Rs 465 crore of immediate exploration work commitment. ONGC has been awarded seven blocks, whereas four blocks have been awarded to Oil India Limited (OIL).

Pradhan calls for independent body for data gathering & management

Pradhan offered all support to OLAP winners in carrying out E&P activities by facilitating relevant approvals from the Central ministries and also state governments. He also suggested that an independent body should be set up for data gathering and data management so that all bidders have access to relevant information for making informed investment decisions.

The minister said that the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) is a market friendly policy which is driving self-reliance in energy sector. 

'OALP has removed red-tapeism & brought in quantum jump in E&P sector'

Pradhan said that successful roll-out of the HELP regime, followed by OALP Bid Rounds, has led to an increase in exploration acreages in India. The exploration acreage which stood at about 80,000 sq km from earlier regimes now stands at approximately 2,37,000 sq km, post the award of blocks under OALP Round-V.

Calling it a transformative policy, the Minister said that the OALP has removed red-tapeism and brought in a quantum jump in exploration & production (E&P) sector. He called for moving away from business-as-usual approach and striving for exponential growth and speed, asking the winners to bring in new technology and new business models, so as to expedite the production of oil and natural gas from these areas. 

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Speaking about technology, Pradhan said that greater digitisation and data mapping tools have aided in fundamentally transforming the E&P landscape and called for greater infusion of technology and state-of-the-art data management systems.

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