ONGC Ltd. was awarded contracts by India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for all seven oil and gas blocks offered in the fourth bid of the Open Acreage Licensing Program (OALP).
India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, said the total area awarded in the blocks is 18,510 sq km spread across the Rajasthan, Vindhyan, and Bengal Purnea sedimentary basins onshore India with resource potential of 33 billion bbl of oil and oil equivalent gas.
At a signing event Jan. 2, Shri Pradhan spoke about reforms in the hydrocarbon sector. “We have shifted our focus from revenue to production maximization and have adopted the path of continuous reform.”
The four OALP bid rounds have awarded 94 blocks covering 136,790 sq km. Operators of the blocks have initiated petroleum exploration activities or are in final stages of obtaining exploration licenses, the agency noted in a press statement Jan. 2. The cumulative exploratory work commitment after four rounds of OALP comprise 29,270 line-km of 2D seismic survey; 43,272 sq km of 3D seismic survey; 369 exploratory wells and 290 core analysis to establish shale resources. The government expects activity to generate an investment of $2.35 billion over next 3-4 years in exploratory work alone.
The 5th cycle of submitting expressions of interest closed Nov. 20, 2019. The 6th cycle is open until March 31.
About the Author
Mikaila Adams
Managing Editor, Content Strategist
Mikaila Adams has 20 years of experience as an editor, most of which has been centered on the oil and gas industry. She enjoyed 12 years focused on the business/finance side of the industry as an editor for Oil & Gas Journal's sister publication, Oil & Gas Financial Journal (OGFJ). After OGFJ ceased publication in 2017, she joined Oil & Gas Journal and was later named Managing Editor - News. Her role has expanded into content strategy. She holds a degree from Texas Tech University.