Open Acreage Licensing Policy

Centre refutes the assertion of artificial shortage of fertilisers in country

As many as 26 mainly offshore oil and gas blocks and 16 coal bed methane blocks have been notified for international bidding as India aims to quickly increase the area under exploration

The saving grace is that unlike wheat, rice stocks in the central pool are much higher than required

Will identify areas for exploration in deepwater on east and west coasts of India

The company wants an extension of timelines for the blocks it won under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) rounds

A few companies who got blocks under DSF-I are considering surrender of their blocks too as they are left with only three months to start production

It is expected that OALP round-III would generate immediate exploration work commitment of around $600-700 mn

The third round of bidding is expected to generate up to $700 million, the government said

The current round was in the news owing to ONGC's non-aggressive bidding strategy

Neither local giant Reliance Industries nor any foreign company participated in the auction

At least 12 companies are likely to participate in the bidding, in which 55 blocks will go under the hammer

The govt has already got the majority of the clearances required for the current round of auctions

Bidding stage of the first round of auctions is set to kick off next week