ONGC gets 8 blocks, Reliance 5 blocks in NELP-V

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) bagged eight out of the 18 oil and gas blocks awarded today under the new exploration licensing policy - V (NELP-V).

Reliance Industries got five blocks, officials associated with the process said today.

Twenty blocks - 12 onland, two shallow water and six deepwater - were auctioned under NELP-V, but the cabinet committee on economic affairs today awarded only 18 blocks referring the bids for the remaining two blocks to the law ministry, an official release added.

A minimum investment of Rs 1,653 crore ($380 million) has been committed in Phase-I of the exploration programme in the 18 blocks awarded today. All three phases of exploration and production would see an investment of Rs 3,771 crore ($867 million).

While the Oil India-Hindustan Petroleum Corporation combine won one onland block in Assam (AA-ONN-2003/3), the consortium of Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation-Gail India-Jubilant Capital-Geo Global Resources got the Cambay basin onland block of CB-ONN-2003/2.

ONGC won only two blocks - the Andaman sea block of AN-DWN-2003/1 and the Cambay Basin shallow water block CB-OSN-2003/1 - on its own, and won the remaining in partnership with Eni of Italay and Cairn Energy of UK.

Reliance Industries, on its own, bagged two Kerala-Konkan deepsea blocks and one Cambay Basin onland block CB-ONN-2003/1. It partnered with Hardy Exploration of UK to win the Krishna Godavari deepsea block of KG-DWN-2003/1 and teamed up with Niko Resources of Canada to bag the Mahanada Basin block MN-DWN-2003/1.