Mumbai: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has bid for the maximum number of oil and gas blocks offered under the sixth round of auction under the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP). ONGC placed bids for about 45 of the 55 oil and gas blocks on offer in NELP VI.

ONGC has teamed up with BP, BG, ENI for bidding for deep-sea block and wit Cairn Energy, GAIL, HPCL and Oil India for other offshore and on-land blocks.

The sixth round of NLEP also witnessed a new trend of multiple tie-ups among bidders.

The state-owned GAIL (India) Ltd has tied up with as many as 16 domestic and foreign firms to bid for around 20 out of the 55 blocks on offer.

As of now, GAIL and ONGC seem to be the only two companies to have entered into maximum of tie-ups for blocks on offer under NELP-VI.

Reliance Industries has submitted bids for about 20 blocks while Anil Ambani Group''s RNRL placed bids for 12 blocks (none of them being deep water blocks). The Anil Ambani group tied up with Ukraine''s Naftogaz for putting in the bids.

BP has bid for two Mahanadi basin deepwater blocks with ONGC. Cairn Energy has bid for 12 blocks where the British company is operator in seven blocks.

Other companies submitting bids include Indian Oil Corporation, GSPC, Videocon and Tata Petrodyne.

Nelp-6, India''s biggest exploration licensing round so far with 55 exploration blocks on offer, has received bids from oil biggies, including Chevron, ExxonMobil, Petronas, Petrobras, Conoco Phillips and Royal Dutch Shell.

As many as 47 companies, including 30 foreign majors had bought data for the 55 blocks on offer.

The offered blocks include 24 deep-water blocks, of which seven are in the KG basin. The 25 onshore blocks include three in Rajasthan. There are also six offshore blocks in shallow waters.