"India offers attractive opportunities for foreign investors in petroleum sector under the seventh round of the New Exploration Licensing Policy," Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dinsha Patel said on Thursday, while inaugurating a Road Show in Calgary .
In a move that may boost the Indian hydrocarbon industry and bring more investments into the sector, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday decided to give marketing freedom to domestic crude oil producers, allowing them to sell petroleum to any company in the local market. The move is set to be beneficial for major crude oil producers, such as state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India, and private sector majors like Vedanta's Cairn Oil and Gas and Reliance Industries. As of May 31, India was dependent on imports for 86 per cent of its crude oil consumption; domestic production sufficed the remaining 14 per cent demand.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora launched the ninth edition of New Exploration Licensing Policy, offering 34 exploration blocks, almost half of the previous round in 2009.
More than three weeks after it announced the sale of a majority stake in its Indian arm to Vedanta Resources, UK's Cairn Energy Plc has formally applied to the government for approvals, saying it will meet all contractual requirements needed to fructify the deal.
Consequently, Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Power will not get any extra gas for its four power plants, including the existing Samalkot power plant in Andhra Pradesh. Senior government officials said the minutes of the meeting of the empowered group of ministers on the New Exploration Licensing Policy had been finalised.
Cairn India, whose success in Rajasthan may have propelled Reliance to bid for two blocks in the state, has submitted offers for only two blocks -- one onland and one offshore.
The government nod to Reliance Industries selling 30 per cent stake in its oil and gas blocks such as eastern offshore KG-D6 to London-based BP Plc for $7.2 billion hinges on no-objection certificate (NOC) from Canada's Niko Resources and UK's Hardy Oil and Gas.
BP will pay $7.2 billion for 30 per cent stake in exploration blocks.
Criticising the government for 'keeping quiet' for long on the Ambani pact that provides for dividing a national resource, former oil minister Ram Naik on Thursday said the ministry should have made a stronger case in the Bombay High Court to protect its policy.
The government will next week launch the 9th round of auction under the New Exploration Licensing Policy for the oil and gas sector.
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries on Tuesday said it has made the first oil discovery at an exploratory block in the Cambay basin in Gujarat.
The eighth round of New Exploration Licensing Policy ended on October 12 attracting bids for 36 out of the 70 areas that had been offered.
RIL had in the New Exploration Licensing Policy rounds won 45 blocks and of these it has surrendered 14 blocks back to the government as it could not find commercially recoverable oil and gas, sources close to the company said.
The global economic meltdown and the gas dispute between the Ambani brothers may trip India's largest ever auction of oil and gas blocks as the two factors are likely to keep major foreign firms from bidding, the sector regulator feels.
The first of the promotional roadshows for 70 blocks offered under the eighth edition of New Exploration Licensing Policy and 10 coal-bed methane areas will be held in Mumbai on August 8, a petroleum ministry official said. On April 9, India launched the eighth round of auction to give away blocks for exploration under NELP with August 10 being the last date for bidding. But it was deferred over ambiguity on tax holiday for natural gas.
Fearing investor backlash on ambiguity over tax holiday for natural gas, India on Friday deferred roadshows for the largest-ever auction of oil and gas blocks and the new dates would be worked out after elections.
With 4,00,000 sq km in acreage and over 100 blocks to be awarded, Nelp VIII is touted as India's biggest-ever auction of oil and gas blocks. Industry observers say there is a strong case for the government to postpone the Nelp VIII, keeping in account the present liquidity situation and low crude oil prices. "It will make sense to postpone Nelp VIII as a lot of exploration and production companies are re-looking at their investment strategies," said a sector expert.
The discovery was made in block KG-DWN-2003/1, lying about 50 km from Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh, a company statement said. The block was awarded to Reliance Industries in the fifth round of auction under the New Exploration Licensing Policy.
Launching a major global initiative for attracting foreign investment in the hydrocarbon sector, India on Monday held a roadshow in London for auctioning 55 oil and gas exploration blocks.
The government on Monday received 181 bids from global and domestic oil majors, including ONGC, Reliance Industries, Essar, BP Plc and BHP Billiton, for oil and gas exploration blocks under the seventh round of NELP auction.
Reliance had carried out the minimum work obligation in block KK-OSN-97/2 (awarded to the company in first round of New Exploration Licensing Policy), KK-DWN-2000/1 and KK-DWN-2000/3 (NELP-II) and decided not to enter the subsequent phase, a company official said. The poor prospectivity of the basin was evident from NELP-VI round when the basin could not attract any bids for two blocks and a third block was awarded on a single bid.
Reliance had won the block in the fifth round of auction under the New Exploration Licensing Policy.
Twenty-five oil majors, including Woodside, Orient Petroleum and Dalma Energy, attended a roadshow held in Dubai to promote the latest offering of 55 oil and gas blocks under sixth round of New Exploration Licensing Policy.
The allotment is expected to attract investments of $1.5 billion, around 57 per cent less than the $3.5 billion commitment for the 52 blocks awarded under the previous auction. ONGC and its partners bagged the maximum number of 20 blocks in the seventh round, which closed on June 30. Australian mining major BHP Billiton and its partner GVK Power, bidding for the first time, won seven deepwater blocks.
More than 70 global energy firms, including ExxonMobil, Chevron Texaco, Conoco Phillip, BHP and Shell, lined up in Houston to have a sneak preview of India's latest offering of oil and gas blocks under the New Exploration Licensing Policy.
A new policy against non-completion of minimum work programmes for exploration blocks - allocated during the New Exploration and Licensing Policy and pre-New Exploration Licensing Policy rounds - is on the anvil.
After the euphoria over the recent oil and gas discoveries made by upstream behemoth Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
The government is likely to make it mandatory for natural gas producers to auction the fuel to consumers within a fixed price band instead of the present practice of entering into negotiated deals.
Oil regulator DGH has recommended stiff penalties on state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp and Reliance Industries Ltd for default on commitments made by them on oil and gas exploration blocks awarded under NELP.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram had, in the Budget for 2008-09, announced end to income tax holidays for refineries commissioning after April 1, 2009. The Budget also mentioned tax breaks under section 80-IB(9) would be available for production of 'mineral oil', which was defined as not to include petroleum and natural gas. This created a lot of confusion among investors and a fear of poor response took Petroleum Minister Murli Deora to Chidambaram earlier this week.
The last date for bidding is being pushed back from April 25 to May 9 to allow Finance Minister P Chidambaram to clear the air on the seven-year income tax holiday for oil and gas production, when he replies to Finance Bill in Parliament in next couple of week, officials said. "There is no formal decision yet, but this is the line of thinking and an announcement is likely soon," an official said.
India expects to attract at least $4 billion of investment in oil and gas hunt in the seventh round of auction of acreage under New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) which was launched on Thursday.Petroleum Minister Murli Deora announced the offer of 57 oil and gas blocks - nine in shallow water, 19 in deep-sea and 29 onland, in NELP-VII, bids for which will close on April 11, 2008.
In an attempt to hold on to its exploration blocks in the Krishna-Godavari basin, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation is in talks with British Gas (BG) and British Petroleum (BP) for joint exploration in four offshore blocks in the region.
However, supermajors Chevron, ExxonMobil and Conoco Philips of US, who were expected to partner Reliance Industries, did not participate.
Reliance Industries has made a 'significant' gas find in a Cauvery basin block-off the east coast, company officials said.
Reliance Industries has made a 'significant' gas find in a Cauvery basin block-off the east coast, company officials said.
Oil and Natural Gas Corp, India's largest oil producer, bagged eight out of the 18 oil and gas block awarded today while country's largest private sector firm Reliance Industries managed five.
The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation is set to win seven of the 20 oil and gas blocks auctioned in January while Reliance Industries would bag six.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and its partners will invest over $1 billion in exploring for oil and gas in the 14 oil and gas block they won in the fourth round of bidding under the new exploration licensing policy.
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