India to auction 80 hydrocarbon blocks under NELP-VIII

09 April 2009

The government today announced the auction of 80 hydrocarbon blocks for exploration, including 70 oil and gas blocks under the eighth round of the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP-VIII) and 10 coal blocks for methaine production under CBM–IV.

Raghaw Sharan Pandey, secretary, ministry of petroleum and natural gas,  announced the launch of the NELP-VIII and CBM-IV in New Delhi today.

Under NELP-VIII, the government will offer 70 oil and gas exploration blocks comprising 24 deepwater blocks, 28 shallow water blocks, 18 onland blocks ( including 10 onland small sized (type-S) blocks), 18 onland blocks in the states of Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur (2) and West Bengal (2). As regards offshore blocks, 28 shallow water and 24 deepwater blocks fall in western, eastern and Andaman offshore.
 
These 70 blocks cover a sedimentary area of about 1.64 lakh sq km, which is 5.2 per cent of Indian sedimentary basin area, the government said in a release.

In order to address concerns expressed by exploration companies in NELP-VIII, the government said, it undertook extensive consultations with various stakeholders, including exploration companies and industry bodies and their views have been factored into, while preparing bid documents for NELP-VIII, it said.

Under NELP-VIII, there will be no distinction between Type–A and Type-B blocks. Blocks offered under NELP-VIII will fall under four categories, namely, Type-S Blocks (onland blocks having area less than 200 sq. km), onland blocks (area of 200 sq km or more), shallow water blocks (offshore blocks of 400 meter bathymetry or less) and deepwater blocks (offshore blocks of more than 400 meter bathymetry).

After seven rounds, the area under exploration has increased more than four times to 48 per cent of Indian sedimentary basin area from 11 per cent before implementation of NELP, the government said.