Govt extends bid submission deadline of auction round OALP-X to May

The government has extended the bid submission deadline for the tenth round of the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP-X) by an additional three months to May 29, 2026, the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) said.

 

The latest bid round was launched in February 2025 during India’s flagship energy event, India Energy Week (IEW) 2025, and was expected to end by July 2025. The deadline for OALP-X bid submission, however, has been extended for the fourth time since then. 

DGH, the upstream regulator, did not specify the reason for the deadline extension. 

OALP-X is the largest bid round so far, offering 25 blocks spread over thirteen sedimentary basins, covering an area of 1.82 lakh sq km. The bid round mainly offers offshore blocks, as out of the 25 blocks, 12 are in ultra deep-water areas, one is in deep water, six blocks are on land and six blocks are in shallow-water areas. 

 

In an effort to boost exploration activities in India, the government introduced the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill, which was passed by Parliament in March 2025, to offer ease of business and operations in the upstream sector and attract foreign players to invest in the country.

 

The OALP-X round offers four blocks in the Andaman basin, for which Indian players are seeking partnerships with global players for technology support. India’s oil minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, has pegged the Andaman region as India’s “Guyana”, underscoring the hydrocarbon potential of the area.

 

Meanwhile, the deadline for bid submission for the fourth round of Discovered Small Field (DSF-IV) and coal-bed methane (CBM) blocks remains unchanged at February 18, 2026.