OALP BID ROUND-III

Feb. 11, 2019

Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan today launched the bid round–III under Open Acreages Licensing Policy (OALP) offering 23 oil and gas blocks.

About:

Background: The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) launched the Open Acreage Licensing Programme (OALP) in June 2017 to accelerate the Exploration and Production (E&P) activities in India.
Features: The OALP adopts all features of Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) - reduced royalty rates, no Oil Cess, uniform licensing system, marketing and pricing freedom, Revenue Sharing Model, Exploration rights on all retained area for full contract life etc.
OALP envisages six monthly periodic bidding rounds starting from July 1, 2017.
First two rounds: Following the contract signing of 55 Blocks under OALP Bid Round-I, the Government launched OALP Bid Round-II on 07th January 2019 offering 14 Blocks under Petroleum Operation Contract for International Competitive Bidding.
Third round: Under this Bid round, 23 blocks spread across 12 sedimentary basins, covering over 31,000 sq. km of area will be available for exploration. With the launch of the third bidding round, more than 1,20,000sq km of area has now been made available for exploration in last one year.