Nina M. Rach
Drilling Editor
HOUSTON, July 5 -- All 10 coalbed methane (CBM) properties offered in India's CBM-III bid round received multiple bids, reported the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH), New Delhi, which opened bids on June 30.
The average was 5.4 bids/block. DGH officials said all blocks would be awarded by Aug. 31, and production sharing contracts would be signed by Oct. 31.
The CBM blocks on offer in this round include two blocks each in Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan and one block each in Jharkhand and West Bengal.
There were 48 bids from 18 Indian and 8 foreign companies. The government called it an "unprecedented response," as there was more interest in CBM-III than in the previous two CBM rounds. CBM-I properties received 16 bids from 6 Indian companies, and CBM-II parcels received 14 bids from 7 Indian companies and 1 foreign company.
Contact Nina M. Rach at [email protected].
