The government of India has awarded 31 contracts in an offering of revenue-sharing licenses designed to stimulate development of small discoveries.
Its Directorate General of Hydrocarbons had offered 46 contract areas under its Discovered Small Fields Bid Round and received 134 electronic bids for 34 areas from 42 companies (OGJ Online, Nov. 21, 2016).
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the award of contracts for 23 areas onshore and 8 offshore.
Awarded contracts singly or as group members are four state-owned companies (called public-sector undertakings), 17 private Indian companies, and one foreign company.
Fifteen of the private companies are new to exploration and production, including the bidder described as foreign, South Asia Consultancy.
State-owned companies receiving contracts are Prize Petroleum Co. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of refiner-marketer Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd.; refiner-marketer Indian Oil Corp. Ltd.; producer Oil India Ltd. (OIL); and Bharat PetroResources Ltd., part of refiner-marketer Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd.
The contract areas hold discoveries made by state-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corp. and OIL but never developed.
