Date:06/12/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/12/06/stories/2005120603170300.htm

Back Petroleum Ministry targets 30 blocks under NELP 6 — Residual blocks may be offered under open acreage

Richa Mishra

Under the open acreage policy, blocks would be available throughout the year and companies can visit data room anytime and if they find any block attractive, they would bid for it.

New Delhi , Dec. 5

THE Petroleum Ministry is likely to offer about 30 exploration blocks under the sixth round of the New Exploration and Licensing Policy (NELP).

A Petroleum Ministry official said the Government was targeting 30-35 blocks of small size under NELP 6, which is expected in January.

Speaking to Business Line, the official said if environmental clearances come on time, the Government will go ahead with NELP 6 as scheduled in January. Indications are that four or five blocks from the North-East may also be offered under the new round.

The official said the open acreage policy that allows companies to choose their own area for exploration would come into force after the blocks in NELP 6 are offered. He, however, said, the residual blocks after NELP 6 could be offered under open acreage system, thus making it possible to simultaneously pursue both the policies.

Under NELP, the Government announces certain blocks that are open for bidding for a specific period. Under the open acreage policy, blocks would be available throughout the year and companies can visit data room anytime and if they find any block attractive, they would bid for it. Besides, to kick off the open acreage system, national data repository has to be in place, where data from all the already awarded (explored and producing) and the new ones to be awarded would be stored for public viewing, the official said adding, building a data takes time.

The NELP has been in existence for eight years now.

The Government had offered 20 exploration blocks to consortia, private companies or joint ventures (both domestic and foreign), national oil companies in the fifth round of NELP. Of these 20 blocks, 12 are in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Naidu, Uttar Pradesh, two in shallow offshore areas and six in deep water areas.

Under NELP, 108 exploration blocks have been awarded through international competitive bidding process. The Petroleum Ministry is also fine tuning the NELP to attract more exploration and production companies including rationalising the exploration blocks so that there is not much of a difference in their size while tapping the unexplored potential of the country.

The intention is to strengthen the bidding system based on experience and performance while the country is trying to graduate to an open acreage system, he said.