ONGC has sought extension of its license for three blocks in the Krishna Godavari basin. An empowered committee of secretaries will take a final decision on the request for extension.

The empowered committee will also decide on the proposal for joint development by ONGC and British Petroleum of another block in the Kutch offshore region by. Licences for the three KG blocks expire in May 2007 and for the Kutch block in August 2008.

ONGC has agreed to give 50 per cent participating interest to the two British companies — British Gas and British Petroleum — in these four blocks.

However, with previous extensions also having expired without any success, the petroleum ministry turned down ONGC''s request for another extension and asked it to surrender the blocks.

The directorate general of hydrocarbons had also said that ONGC should return the blocks at the earliest and be put up for rebidding in the next of NELP.