The Search Within ; the Significant Gas Finds in the Kg Basin Have Rekindled Foreign Interest in India's Oil and Gas Reserves.

Summary

---

On July 31, 2005, the government will announce the winners of the sixth round of the New Exploration and Licensing Policy (NELP). Up for grabs are 20 blocks-six deepwater, two shallow and 12 onshore- in Kerala, Konkan, Mahanadi Basin and the Gulf of Cambay that will, hopefully, reduce the country's dependence on oil imports.

The most heartening feature of the current round of bidding is the presence of a record 26 foreign oil majors; 17 of these are first-timers in India and include British Petroleum and Foresight (both from the UK), Petrobras (Brazil), ENI Spa (Italy), Zakros Holdings Limited (Cyprus) and Birkbeck Investment Limited (Mauritius). This is a welcome change from the past when global interest in the Indian hydrocarbon sector was, at best, lukewarm. For instance only 27 bids were received for 48 blocks offered in NELP-I (See table). Under NELP-III, 45 bids received for 23 blocks.

See the full content of this document

Extract

---

The Search Within ; the Significant Gas Finds in the Kg Basin Have Rekindled Foreign Interest in India's Oil and Gas Reserves.

Why this sudden burst of attention on India? The large gas finds in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) Basin and Barmer district in Rajasthan have acted as the catalyst behind this revival of interest in the bidding process. The Reliance-Niko Resources joint venture di...

See the full content of this document

---