OALP-III launched; seen to fetch $700 million

The Centre has launched the third round of bids under the Open Acreage Licensing Programme (OALP).

Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched the OALP-III bid round at the Petrotech 2019 conference on the outskirts of Delhi.

In this round, 23 blocks with an area of approximately 32,000 sq km are being offered for bidding, an official statement said.

These include 19 on-land blocks including five coal bed methane (CBM) blocks, three shallow-water blocks and 1 deep water block. The blocks are spread across 12 sedimentary basins.

Of the blocks on offer, 18 are based on Expressions of Interest (EoI) submitted by the bidders.

Five blocks where CBM is the primary target have been carved out by the government suo motu with a view to augment the exploration and production of the fuel in the country.

Bids will open from February 11 and continue till April 10.

“It is expected that OALP-III will generate immediate exploration work commitment of around $600-700 million,” the statement said.

OALP-III will run concurrently with OALP-II, where 14 blocks covering an area of close to 30,000 sq km is on offer for bidding.