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.
Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Murli Deora, offered for sale the onshore and offshore blocks to potential investors, including Brazil's Petrobras, BP (British Petroleum) and Malaysia's Petronas.
Of the 55 blocks available for bidding in the New Exploration Licensing Policy - the Sixth Round (NELP VI), and the Coal Bed Methane - Third round (CBM III) of bidding in India, 24 are in deepwater, 6 in shallow water and 25 onshore. Ten onshore blocks are available under the CBM III Round of Bidding, he said.
"Recent explorations in Krishna Godavari Basin off India's east coast and Rajasthan in the north have proved India has large reserves of hydrocarbons, so this is a good opportunity for investors," Deora said at the roadshow held at the Hilton Paddington in central London.
He explained the overhaul of the bidding criteria and industry regulatory structure. The new law passed by Parliament recently sets up a gas regulatory structure, the absence of which had deterred foreign investors previously.
India imports about 72 per cent of its energy requirements and, in an economy growing at 8 per cent, the country is under increasing pressure to boost energy security.
There have been quite a few positive discoveries in India in the recent past. Reliance Industries, the country's largest private sector energy group, announced in 2002 a find in the Krishna Godavari Basin that was the largest in the world in that year.Do you want to discuss stock tips? Do you know a hot one? Join the Stock Market Investments Discussion Group
