Environmental clearance (EC) for DSF fields will be transferred to new owners: DGH

• If, any change is proposed to be carried out under the DSF block, the new operator would need to get EC amended/new EC, said the DGH
• An investors' meet on DSF Round-3 is scheduled to take place on July 30

New Delhi: The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) has told potential bidders for Discovered Small Fields (DSF) auction round-3 that the environmental clearance (EC) for these fields will be transferred from the original contractor/operator to the new one in line with the EIA notification, 2006. In pre-bid clarifications issued on Wednesday, the DGH told potential bidders, "As per EIA notification 2006, EC can be transferred from the original contractor/operator to the new one provided the transfer is during the validity of EC and there is no change in the project profile from the original work programme."

'Environmental clearance will have to be renewed only if a change is proposed'

Explaining the circumstances under which a new or an amended environmental clearance may be required, the DGH said, "If, any change is proposed to be carried out under the DSF block, the new operator would need to get EC amended/new EC. If the earlier EC is for exploratory drilling, the same cannot be transferred to the new operator for production and development to the undertaken in DSF activities." The DGH also added that complete marketing freedom will be provided to the contractor.

The clarifications come just days before an investors' meet on DSF Round-3 is scheduled to take place on July 30. The event will be chaired by Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri and will be attended by Minister of State (MoS) for Petroleum Rameswar Teli, Petroleum Secretary Tarun Kumar and senior officials from the government and chief company representatives from the oil and gas sector.

Background

DSF bid round 3 is offering 32 Contract Areas which comprise of 75 discoveries. These fields are spread over nine sedimentary basins covering more than 13,000 square kilometres with in-place hydrocarbon estimated to be around 230 MMT. Geoscientific data for fields on offer will be showcased through Data Room with interpretation facilities which would assist the potential bidder in making informed decision. The bidders will be able to submit their bids till August 31.

In DSF round 1 launched in 2016, 134 bids were submitted for 34 contract areas by 47 companies and 30 Revenue Sharing Contracts were signed. In DSF round 2 launched in 2018, 145 bids were submitted for 24 contract areas and 24 Revenue Sharing Contracts were signed.

The Centre had launched Discovered Small Field (DSF) Policy in 2015 for awarding discovered acreages and monetise the unmonetised discoveries. The DSF policy has multiple attractive features like revenue sharing contract model with low regulatory burden, no minimum biddable work programme, no prior technical qualification required, no upfront signature bonus, etc.

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