ONGC likely to get five oil, gas blocks in second round of DSF auction

Lok Sabha polls may force govt to merge second and third open acreage licensing policy rounds

State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is likely to get the maximum number of contract areas — five — in the second round of discovered small fields (DSF-II) auction. However, despite putting in 21 bids for 84 per cent of the total areas on offer, officials said, Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta will be getting only two.

The other upstream auction under the open acreage licensing policy (OALP), however, is likely see merger of the second and third rounds. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) is considering a proposal for announcing winners after the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The