The state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has walked away with bulk of the 21 oil and gas exploration blocks in the fourth round of new exploration licensing policy.

ONGC, along with its partners, won 15 blocks while private sector Reliance Industries Ltd could manage only one.

"Bids for oil and gas blocks on offer in NELP-IV have been evaluated and recommendations are being sent to the empowered committee of secretaries," sources said in New Delhi.

Cairn Energy of the United Kingdom won a Ganga Valley onland block on its own and an onshore block in Cambay basin in Gujarat in partnership with ONGC. The other big names in the fray -- British energy firm BG Group, Canadian Niko Resources and Russia's Zarubezneftgaz drew blank.

New entrants Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, which bid along with ONGC, was successful in Cauvery onland block CY-ONN-2002/2 and deepwater blocks in Krishna-Godavari basin and Mahanadi Basin.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd, in consortium with ONGC, bagged two Kerala-Konkan deepwater blocks, sources said.

Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation got three onland blocks -- CB-ONN-2002/2 in association with Jubilant Enpro Ltd, GeoGobal Resources; CB-ONN-2002/3 with Jubilant Enpro, GeoGlobal and Price Petroleum (both in Gujarat) and CY-ONN-2002/1 in Tamil Nadu with Enpro Finance and Gail.

Reliance Industries, which teamed up with Hardy Oil of UK to bid for eight of the 12 deepwater blocks on offer, could manage only NEC-DWN-2002/1 deep-sea block, they added.