India Starts Biggest Oilfield Auction In Eight Years

India launched the first round of bidding for its biggest oil block auction in eight years as Asia’s third-largest economy looks to boost fuel output to cut imports.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas have put up 55 explorations blocks for auction under its new Open Acreage Licensing Programme, its statement said. It allows bidders to carve their own areas for hydrocarbon hunting for the first time.

“We have made a paradigm shift in the exploration and production industry,” Dharmendra Pradhan, minister for petroleum and natural gas, said. “The reassessment study undertaken for the first time in two decades has indicated a significant increase (about 50%) in resource estimation.”

Oil is among the biggest contributors to India’s import bill as Asia’s third largest economy depends on shipments for 80 percent of its consumption. That fuels its current account and trade deficit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government targets to reduce oil imports by 10 percent by 2022.

Also Read: Oilfield Auctions: Second Round To Begin Next Year

The auctions, part of the new policy announced last year, opened up 59,282 square kilometres of sedimentary basins for exploration and eventual production. The government received 55 expressions of interest when the first window opened from July-November. Nearly 60 percent of them were from private explorers.

Explorers can now bid round the year. Applications will be bunched together and evaluated twice a year, at the end of two six-monthly windows. E-bidding portal allows companies to submit quotes from anywhere in the world.