First oil from small field award in 4 months, says bid winner

Of the 22 companies that won the bids, 15 were new to the sector

In the recently concluded auctions for small oilfield discoveries, a key investor attraction was a block in the Cambay basin. It got 19 bids. The winner here, Dubai-based South Asia Consultancy FZE, only foreign entity to have player to get a block in this round, expects to start production within four months.

It believes that from a minimal investment of Rs 100 crore for five to six wells, it could unearth oil reserves worth at least Rs 5,000 crore from the contract area — CB/ONDSF/South Patan/2016. 

“We have got a very lucrative area for exploration. By government estimates, the block