-
India launches biggest oil and gas bidding round under OALP at Energy Summit
Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday, February 11, launched the 10th round of bidding for oil and gas assets under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) at the India Energy Summit 2025.
This round marks the largest bidding exercise in terms of acreage offered under the Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) regime.
A total of 25 blocks, spanning approximately 1,91,986.21 square kilometres across 13 sedimentary basins, have been opened for bidding. Notably, 16 of these blocks, covering 97,919.6 square kilometres—about 51% of the total area—were previously designated as ‘No-Go’ zones, areas where exploration was restricted in the past.
The bid round primarily focuses on offshore assets, with 19 of the 25 blocks located offshore, covering 1,75,115 square kilometres. Of these, 13 are situated in deep-water and ultra-deep-water regions, accounting for 1,33,724 square kilometres.
The remaining blocks include six on land, six in shallow water, one in deep water, and 12 in ultra-deep water. Based on geological potential, the blocks are categorised into Category-I (9 blocks), Category-II (11 blocks), and Category-III (5 blocks).
Share This
