According to the upstream regulator DGH, state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has won 18 of the 21 areas offered for finding and producing oil and gas in the sixth bid round under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy.
The winner of the OALP-VI round was Oil India Ltd (OIL) which got two blocks and Sun Petrochemicals Pvt Ltd, got one block, according to the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons. Only three bidders were interested in the 21 blocks or regions offered for oil and gas exploration and production in Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) Bid Round-VI, which ended on October 6, 2021. 18 of the 21 blocks on offer received a single bid, while the remaining three received two bids.
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ONGC, India's largest oil company, submitted bids for 19 blocks, while OIL submitted bids for two. In 16 blocks, ONGC was the only bidder, and OIL was the lone bidder in the two territories it sought. Sun Petrochemicals placed a bid for three blocks in which it will compete with ONGC.
Vedanta Ltd and the Reliance-BP group, who had previously bid in OALP rounds, did not bid this time. The government is hopeful that by allowing more acreage to be opened up for exploration, India's oil and gas production will increase, reducing the country's USD 119 billion oil import bill.