India's largest auction of oil, gas exploration areas in Feb

The fall in global crude oil prices notwithstanding, India will launch its biggest-ever auction of oil and gas exploration areas in February, offering over 100 blocks for international bidding.

The nation is looking at using lower rig rates and oil field services that are likely to result from fall in international oil prices and global recession to comb the unexplored areas, so that its import dependence could be cut.

So far, 206 blocks have been awarded under seven rounds of bidding under the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP).

"It would be our endeavour to launch NELP-VIII in first quarter of 2009," Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said on the occasion of signing of contracts for 44 blocks awarded under the just-concluded NELP-VII bid round.

Petroleum Secretary R S Pandey was more specific saying the round would come in February, while oil regulator DGH said 400,000 sq km of area roughly divided into more than 100 blocks would be offered in the next round.

"NELP-VII was our largest round so far with 150,000 sq km of area offered. NELP-VIII would be even larger," DGH Director General V K Sibal said.

"Simultaneously, the fourth round of auction of coal bed methane (CBM) blocks would also be launched," Deora said. 26 coal blocks for exploiting gas lying below coal seams have been awarded in the previous three CBM rounds.

"Under NELP, 68 discoveries of oil and gas (have been made) in 19 blocks, establishing in-place reserves of 500 million tonnes of oil and oil equivalent gas," he said.

The most notable being Reliance Industries' gas find in Krishna Godavari basin D6 block that would double nation's gas availability to 160 million standard cubic meters per day by 2012.