OALP Round 5: Private sector keeps away, ONGC wins 11 blocks, OIL 4

• The 11 geographical areas that were on offer under OALP Round 5 are spread across eight sedimentary basins

• With the latest round, DGH has opened up approximately 19,800 square (sq.) kilometres (km) for investors

New Delhi: State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has secured 11 blocks and Oil India Limited (OIL) has won the remaining four under Round 5 of the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP), the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons said. The 11 geographical areas that were on offer under OALP Round 5 are spread across eight sedimentary basins and include eight on-land blocks (six in Category I basin and one each in Category II and III basins), two shallow-water blocks (one each in Category I and II basins), and one ultra-deepwater block (Category I basin). 

With the latest round, DGH has opened up approximately 19,800 square (sq.) kilometres (km) for investors. It is expected to generate immediate exploration work commitment of around USD 400-450 million. 

Private sector continues to stay away from OALP

The last two rounds under OALP have received a tepid response from private players, who have chosen to stay away from the bidding process. While no private player turned up for bidding in Round 4 of OALP, Round 5 received only one bid from Invenire Petrodyne Ltd. For both the rounds, all the blocks on offer went to public sector companies.

ALSO READ: ONGC wins all 7 blocks up for offer under OALP bid Round 4

The winners

ONGC has won blocks in Bengal-Purnea, Cambay, Gujarat Kutch, Gujarat Saurashtra, and Mumbai basins. On the other hand, OIL won two blocks each in Assam (Assam Shelf and Assam Arakkan) and Rajasthan.

Under the National Infrastructure Pipeline of ~102 trillion, the energy sector is expected to contribute about 24 per cent of the projected capital expenditure in infrastructure, and exploration is expected to be one such important area.

The backdrop

The government has so far awarded 94 blocks in four OALP bid rounds over the last two-and-a-half years. These 94 blocks cover an exploratory area of around 1,36,800 square kilometres over 16 Indian sedimentary basins. 

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