India Opens Special Bidding Round for Deepwater Oil and Gas Blocks

The government is rolling out a special licensing round for deepwater and ultra-deepwater oil and gas blocks, offering monthly bidding windows and relaxed fiscal terms as it prepares to shoulder up to 50 per cent of eligible exploratory well costs under its Rs 840.84-billion Samudra Manthan offshore exploration programme. The special round under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) is aimed at accelerating exploration in India’s offshore frontier basins by lowering entry barriers, sharing the high costs and risks of deepwater drilling, and making acreage available to investors throughout the year.

“Under the government’s ‘Samudra Manthan’ National Offshore Exploration Scheme, a Special OALP is being introduced for fast-track award of deepwater and ultra-deepwater (DW/UDW) exploration blocks,” the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) said in a notice.

DGH said details of the bid round will be announced shortly.

The Special OALP is a key licensing and investment facilitation initiative aligned with Samudra Manthan, the Centre’s broader mission to unlock India’s offshore hydrocarbon potential, encourage private investment and strengthen domestic energy security. This is with a view to raise domestic production of oil and natural gas to help cut the mounting import bill.

The new framework seeks to make deepwater acreage available to investors on a continuous basis while improving the commercial and operational conditions for undertaking high-risk, capital-intensive offshore exploration.