New Delhi: The results of the ninth round of auctions for 28 hydrocarbon blocks under the Centre’s Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) were announced on Tuesday, with state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) securing 15 blocks—four in partnership with other players, and 11 independently, according to an official statement by ministry of petroleum and natural gas. Oil India Limited bagged nine blocks, including three with ONGC. And Vedanta Group’s Cairn Oil & Gas secured seven blocks.
ONGC has tied up with Reliance Industries Ltd and London-headquartered bp plc for a block in the Saurashtra Basin. To be sure, this marks the entry of bp into India’s upstream exploration & production (E&P) space. ONGC bagged three more blocks in partnership with Oil India.
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Addressing the OALP IX & Special DSF signing ceremony, Union minister for petroleum and natural gas Hardeep Singh Puri said that the growing investor interest in India’s oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) space is “a powerful testament to India’s unwavering commitment to reducing its import dependence and securing its energy future”. DSF refers to discovered small fields.
Demand from India
“In the next two decades, 25% of the world’s incremental energy demand growth will come from India. We were determined to unlock India’s untapped energy potential, estimated at approximately 42 billion tonnes of oil and oil equivalent of gas,” he said.
A statement from bp spokesperson said: “We are happy to confirm that we have signed a contract for a new exploration license under the consortium of ONGC (40%) RIL (30%) and bp (30%) for block GS-OSHP-2022/2 (Saurashtra Basin) in the OALP IX bidding round. This strategic collaboration brings together the expertise of India’s largest national oil and gas company, ONGC, the largest Indian conglomerate, Reliance Industries, and global energy major bp. This consortium leverages the strength of all parties and is another step towards strengthening India’s energy security goals.”
Also read | Cairn Oil & Gas commences gas flow from Hazarigaon field
Cairn Oil & Gas, a Vedanta Group company, secured seven blocks in the latest bidding round. It had submitted bids for all 28 blocks on offer in the ninth round.
Portfolio expands
In a statement, Cairn said: “The awarded new blocks comprise of 4 onshore and 3 shallow water blocks located in the hydrocarbon basins of Cambay, Saurashtra, and Mumbai. With these addition, Cairn’s portfolio now expands to 69 blocks covering over 73,000 sq.km. area across the country.”
During the OALP IX & Special DSF signing ceremony on Tuesday, the petroleum ministry also launched an online portal to receive public comments on the Draft Petroleum and Natural Gas (PNG) Rules 2025. These rules aim to implement provisions under the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Act, 2025.
An official statement noted that 76% of the total area currently under exploration has been brought under active exploration only since 2014.
OALP Round-IX covered 136,596 sq. km across 28 blocks. These included 13,875.19 sq. km in onland areas, 26,648.14 sq. km in shallow waters, and 96,073.12 sq. km in ultra-deep waters.
Under OALP-IX, blocks across eight sedimentary basins have been awarded, covering 1.36 lakh sq. km, 38% of which fall in areas previously designated as ‘no-go’.
Additionally, two blocks were awarded under the Special DSF Round, with a total of 60 bids received.
