Govt extends date for bid submission for auction of 11 oil & gas blocks a 3rd time
The Round 5 of OALP was opened in January and the initial deadline for the submission of bids was March 18
The govt has so far awarded 94 blocks in four rounds in the last two-and-a-half years
New Delhi: The government has once again extended the last date for the submission of bids for the auction of 11 oil and gas blocks under Round 5 to June 10, days after the nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of Coronavirus was extended to May 3.
Bidding for Round 5 of auction of oil blocks extended thrice
Round 5 of OALP (Open Acreage Licensing Policy) was opened in January and the initial deadline for the submission of bids was March 18. However, the bid was first extended to April 16, and then in March-end, it was extended again without any specific closing deadline. "The bid submission date for India OALP Bid Round-V, offering 11 blocks for exploration and development, is extended to June 10, 2020," the DGH (Directorate General of Hydrocarbons) said on Twitter.
DGH merges EoI cycle for Round VI and Round VII
The fifth cycle of EoI submission closed on November 30, 2019, and was followed by the sixth cycle that began on December 1, 2019. The latter was supposed to close till March 31 this year and it was to be followed by the seventh cycle from April 1, until July 31. However, the DGH has now merged the sixth and the seventh cycle of EoIs. "In view of the lockdown due to COVID-19, the EoI cycle for Round VI (ending March 31, 2020) and Round VII (ending July 31, 2020) shall stand merged," DGH said and added that the EoIs received between December 1 and July 31 will be clubbed and put on offer as a combined bid round. "Bidding round would be launched based on EoIs received till July 31, 2020," it said.
The backdrop
The government has so far awarded 94 blocks in four rounds in the last two-and-a-half years. These 94 blocks cover an exploratory area of about 1,36,800 square kilometers over 16 Indian sedimentary basins. Of the total, the most number of blocks have been awarded to Vedanta — 51. Next up in the tally is Oil India Ltd with 21 blocks and ONGC (Oil & Natural Gas Corporation) with 17.
