India to offer 21 oil, gas blocks in OALP XI bidding round

New Delhi: India is preparing to roll out the next round of oil and gas exploration auctions, with 21 blocks identified for offering under OALP-XI, even as the previous round remains open for bids. The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) has published details of the proposed acreage, spanning about 80,235 square kilometres across a mix of terrains. The offering includes 12 onland blocks, four in shallow waters, one deepwater block and four in ultra-deepwater regions.

“Bid submission start and closing dates (will) be announced soon,” the DGH said.

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Different metrics to decide winners

The award framework varies by basin maturity, with more weight given to fiscal terms in proven regions and to exploration effort in less-developed areas. For Category-I basins — where commercial production already exists — blocks will go to bidders offering the highest revenue share along with a committed work programme. In contrast, for Category-II and III basins, bids will be evaluated primarily on the scale of proposed seismic surveys and drilling activity.

Category-II basins have known hydrocarbon accumulations but lack commercial development, while Category-III areas are yet to see any discoveries.

New round comes amid delays in OALP-X

The announcement of OALP-XI comes at a time when OALP-X — the largest round so far — is still awaiting bid closure after multiple deadline extensions. Launched in February 2025 at India Energy Week, the round has seen its closing date pushed repeatedly from July 2025 to October, then December, later February 2026, and now to May 29.

OALP-X covers 25 blocks spread over nearly 191,986 sq km across 13 sedimentary basins, including a significant share in deepwater and ultra-deepwater areas.

Limited competition in recent rounds

While the government has steadily expanded the scale of acreage on offer, bidder participation has remained relatively limited. In OALP-IX, which preceded the current round, 28 blocks covering 1.36 lakh sq km were offered, attracting just four bidders — including ONGC, Oil India Ltd and Vedanta Ltd — with most blocks receiving only two bids.

The round also marked the first instance of a joint bid by Reliance Industries Ltd and BP Plc with ONGC for an offshore block in Gujarat.

ONGC emerged as the largest winner, securing 11 blocks independently and three with Oil India. Vedanta, despite bidding for all 28 blocks, won seven, while Oil India picked up six.

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Policy framework and shift to open acreage

India moved to the open acreage system in 2016 under the Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP), allowing companies to identify blocks for bidding instead of relying on government-nominated areas.

The regime offers lower royalty rates, incentives for early production, no oil cess, full exploration rights over retained areas, and freedom in pricing and marketing of output.

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