India's deepwater bids get sixth lifeline

New Delhi: India has once again extended the deadline for bid submissions under the X oil and gas exploration licensing round, marking the sixth extension since the round was launched in February 2025.The new deadline of September 17 applies only to the one deepwater and 12 ultra-deepwater blocks on offer under the 10th round of the Open Acreage Licensing Programme (OALP), according to the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH).

The bidding deadline for the remaining 12 blocks, located onshore or in shallow waters, expired on Friday.

The DGH did not provide a reason for extending the deadline for deepwater blocks while allowing the bidding window to close for the others.131920027Similarly, the bidding deadline for deepwater and ultra-deepwater blocks under the XIth OALP round, launched in March, has also been extended to September 17.

This round includes one deepwater and four ultra-deepwater blocks, while the remaining 16 blocks are located either onshore or in shallow waters.

Bidding for the non-deepwater blocks in this round also closed on Friday.The government has repeatedly extended bidding windows in an effort to attract foreign investors, who have largely stayed away from previous licensing rounds.

Since launching the Xth round in February 2025, India has undertaken a sweeping overhaul of its exploration regime, amending key provisions of its exploration policy, notifying new rules and drafting revised contracts aimed at improving investor confidence.

The Iran war has reinforced the urgency of boosting domestic oil and gas production, which has been declining for years and has pushed India's dependence on imports to increasingly high levels.

Officials hope the technical expertise and long-term capital of international oil majors can help revive exploration activity in a country that has not seen a major hydrocarbon discovery in more than two decades. ...