Bid date for oil and gas blocks extended till 25 April

10 March 2008

Mumbai: The government has extended the bid date for 57 oil and gas blocks on offer under the latest round of New Exploration Licencing Policy, from 11 April to 25 April .

The move is aimed at giving bidders more time to evaluate data, Anil Jain, joint secretary (exploration), ministry of petroleum and natural gas, said.

"We have revised the schedule for promotional roadshows in Singapore and Australia. The road show in Singapore will now be held on March 28, and the one in Perth on March 31. This leaves very little time for companies to evaluate data and take a bid so the bid closing date has been postponed," Jain told an NELP-VII interactive meet organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Roadshows for the event have lready been held in London and Houston.

The government has offered 57 oil and gas blocks, including 19 in deep sea, 29 on land and 9 in shallow water areas in the seventh round of auction under the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP).

Evaluation of bids are expected to be completed soon after. The government plans to award contract and sign production sharing agreements by July-August.