Oil block bid round under revamped rules almost flops; gets 8 bids for 7 blocks

India's offer of seven oil blocks on revamped licence terms attracted just eight bids from state-owned firms including six single bids in the latest licensing round ignored by both private and foreign companies.

The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) in a statement said state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) bid for all the seven blocks while Oil India Ltd (OIL) put in an offer for one block at the close of bidding on Thursday.

The block in Rajasthan saw competition from ONGC and OIL but the five in Madhya Pradesh and one in West Bengal saw single bids from ONGC, DGH said.

"Seven onland blocks were on offer (in the fourth round of Open Acreage Licensing Policy) with an area of approx 18,500 sq km," DGH said. "The results demonstrate continued interest of established players in Indian E&P (exploration and production) with bids received for all 7 blocks. The evaluation of the bids would be undertaken in a time-bound manner."