The government is expected to come out with the bids for oil and natural gas assets under the tenth round of Open Acreage Licencing Policy in the beginning of 2025, according to a senior official of the ministry. Moreover, the government expects the contracts for the upcoming round and the ongoing 9th round to be signed as per the reforms mentioned in the Oil (Regulations and Development) Amendment Bill, which is expected to be passed in the upcoming winter session of Parliament.
Additionally, a few no-go areas may also go under the hammer in the tenth round of the OALP bidding, the official said.
“OALP round nine closes on September 21. We are already in advanced stages of discussions for OALP round ten. We are hoping to see the passing of the ORDA Act in this winter session. If we are successful then it opens the way for us to make changes in our contracting framework for round ten,” the source said.
The official noted that onshore drilling is becoming more and more unviable and overall there is much more interest among the industry people in exploration of offshore blocks.
The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) introduced a Bill in Parliament to amend the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Act, 1948 making oil and gas exploration in the country more attractive for companies. The Bill proposes to broaden the definition of mineral oils, which previously included only petroleum and natural gas and introduces the concept of a petroleum lease. This lease covers various activities related to mineral oils, including exploration, prospecting, production, making them merchantable, and disposal.
The Oilfield Amendment Bill, if implemented, will be a much-needed policy measure to improve ease of doing business in the Indian upstream petroleum sector, as per industry players. Currently, a lot of different clearances are sought across various ministries like the Ministry of Mines due to statutory ambiguity over classification of petroleum blocks, creating regulatory hurdles over clearances, which has been subduing investments into production, particularly greenfield blocks.
Additionally, the government is expecting a term deal between Indian refiners and Russia for supplies of crude oil to conclude by next year. “They (Indian refiners) were talking jointly. I do not have an update as now everything has been overtaken by this change in crude oil prices. The discussion (with Russia) is ongoing,” said the official.
The official noted that the two parties are negotiating a deal involving the number of cargoes, flexibility of the ports among others highlighting that the ‘market of 2024 is different from the market of 2023’. “Negotiating positions on both sides are different from what it was last year.”
Reports have earlier suggested that the country’s state-owned refiners are in discussions with Russia to secure a term deal for crude supplies on a fixed discount after the conclusion of a similar deal between Russia and Reliance Industries a few months back.
Talking about whether the government plans to resume the daily revision of fuel prices, the official said any price point witnessed today will play out in a lag effect and the state-owned oil marketing companies will take the necessary decision at the right time.
From: financialexpress
Financial News
