OALP BID ROUND-IV

About:

• 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.
  
  
• OALP envisages six monthly periodic bidding rounds starting from July 1, 2017.
  
  
• Government under three (3) OALP Rounds have already awarded Eighty-Seven (87) Blocks covering an area of 1,18,280 Sq. Km with leading E&P companies.
  
  

OALP Bid Round-IV:

• In OALP Bid Round-IV, 7 blocks, with an area of approximately 18,500 sq. km., are being offered for bidding to the investor community.
  • The Vindhyan basin covers areas under the Son valley, Bundelkhand and Rajasthan.
    
    
  • The Bengal Purnea basin is in West Bengal and extends into the offshore region of the Bay of Bengal.
    
    
  
  
  
• OALP-IV is the first round being held on revamped terms approved in February 2019.
  • Unlike previous rounds where blocks were awarded to companies offering a maximum share of oil and gas to the government, blocks in little or unexplored Category-II and III basins will be awarded to companies offering to do maximum exploration programme.
    
    
  • The revamped policy also provides for “shorter exploration period, concessional royalty rates to expedite oil and gas production and introduction of alternate dispute resolution mechanism.