Shirish Nadkarni
OGJ correspondent
MUMBAI, June 2 -- The Indian government has received 69 bids from 48 companies for 20 blocks under the fifth round of the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP-V).
Bidders included 27 companies from outside of India.
Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said in New Delhi that the bidding exceeded his expectations.
"The number of foreign companies bidding in this round is likely to exceed the total number during all the previous rounds," he said.
The Petroleum Ministry said it will announce awards by July 31 and hopes to have contracts signed by the end of September.
