Next round of bidding for oil, gas assets in early 2025, to include no-go areas

New Delhi: The Union ministry of petroleum and natural gas is planning to hold the next round of bidding for oil and gas assets under the open acreage licensing programme (OALP) early next year, an official aware of the development said.

The official said that the Oil (Regulations and Development) Amendment Bill, aimed at bringing reforms in the oil and gas exploration space, is expected to be passed in the upcoming winter session of the parliament and the new rules are likely to come into effect for the 10th round. In the 10th round, the government would offer blocks in erstwhile ‘no-go’ areas, where exploration and production of hydrocarbons were barred due to strategic reasons.

Further, the reformed contractual terms may also be incorporated in the contracts to be signed for the ongoing 9th round of OALP.

The ninth OALP round was launched in January and will close on Saturday (21 September). Of the 28 blocks being offered, nine are onshore blocks, eight shallow-water blocks and 11 ultra-deepwater blocks across eight sedimentary basins, with an area of 136,596.45 square kilometers.

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“OALP round nine closes day after tomorrow. So, we are already in advanced stages for preparations of OALP round 10.  We are hoping to see passage of ORD Act in the winter session which therefore makes it easier for us. If we are successful then it opens the way for making changes in our contracting framework for round 10. And OALP round 10, therefore, early next year we are targeting, will be focussed on all the no go areas,” the official said on the condition of anonymity.

Increase production

In a bid to increase India’s oil and gas production, the Centre has already made available more than 1 million square kilometre in recent past for exploration and production (E&P) operations which were earlier so called ‘no-go’ areas. India is the third-largest importer of oil and gas, and purchases about 85% of its energy requirement and has been making efforts to increase its domestic production to ensure energy security. In FY24, it imported 233.1 million tonne (mt) of crude oil, compared to 232.7 mt in the previous fiscal (FY23).

“The contracts for the bids selected for round nine would probably get signed early next year. So we have assured (the bidders) that the government would factor in all the impact of the ORD bill in our contracting for round nine,” the official added.

Russian oil

The official further said that Indian companies continue to discuss as a consortium with Russian oil and gas companies for a long-term oil deal. In July, Mint reported that India's state-run companies are scouting the globe for long-term energy supplies and are jointly negotiating as a consortium.

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Earlier, Mint had reported that with discounts on Russian crude oil dwindling, India has assembled state-owned and private oil refiners to jointly negotiate for higher discounts and better terms with Russian suppliers, including Russia’s largest oil company Rosneft PJSC.

Russia has been the top supplier of crude to India since 2022 as it has been offering oil at discounted prices since the start of the Ukraine war. As of June, Russia has supplied oil worth $14.79 billion to India in FY25, 25% higher than $11.83 in the same period last fiscal.

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