New Delhi, Nov 9 (IANS) The government has extended the deadline for submitting bids for deepwater and ultra-deepwater oil and gas exploration blocks under its 10th and 11th Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) rounds to December 10, marking the seventh postponement for OALP-X and the third for OALP-XI.

The latest extension gives prospective investors nearly a month more to assess the offshore acreage on offer amid efforts to attract investment into India's technically challenging deepwater exploration sector.

The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH), under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, has revised the bidding deadline for deepwater and ultra-deepwater blocks in OALP-X and OALP-XI to December 10.

While the government did not specify the reason for the extension, multiple media reports suggested that it could be linked to the government's Rs 84,084-crore Samudra Manthan National Offshore Exploration Scheme, whose operating guidelines were released on October 22.

The scheme provides government support of up to 50 per cent of eligible deepwater exploration drilling costs, subject to a ceiling of Rs 675 crore per well.

The extension would give companies more time to evaluate the financial support framework and the economics of the blocks.

OALP-X was launched in 2025 with 25 blocks covering around 1.83 lakh sq km across 13 sedimentary basins.

The round includes six onshore, six shallow-water, one deepwater and 12 ultra-deepwater blocks.

Of the total acreage, 19 blocks are offshore, including 13 deepwater and ultra-deepwater blocks covering about 1.24 lakh sq km.

Bidding for onshore and shallow-water blocks closed in June, while the deadline for deepwater and ultra-deepwater acreage was extended several times from July 2025.

It was earlier set for November 15 before being pushed to December 10.

OALP-XI was launched in March this year with 21 blocks covering 80,234.49 sq km across 11 sedimentary basins. It comprises 12 onshore, four shallow-water, one deepwater and four ultra-deepwater blocks.

Nine blocks are offshore, covering around 45,296 sq km.

Bidding for onshore and shallow-water blocks also closed in June, while the deadline for the remaining deepwater and ultra-deepwater blocks has now been extended to December 10 from November 15.

The scheme was approved by the Union Cabinet in Julywith an outlay of Rs 84,084 crore through FY31 and aims to unlock more than 600 million tonnes of additional oil-equivalent hydrocarbon resources.

--IANS

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