• Petroleum Minister introduced a new oil and gas block licensing policy that is expected to open up 2.8 million square kilometres of sedimentary basins to exploration and production activities.
• The OALP, a part of the government’s Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP), gives exploration companies the option to select the exploration blocks on their own, without having to wait for the formal bid round from the Government.
• The company then submits an application to the government, which puts that block up for bid.
• OALP is a fundamental shift and a very transformative step in India’s E&P history. This policy reiterates GoI’s commitment to reduce administrative & regulatory burden, thus enhancing ease of doing business.
• A single license to explore all forms of hydrocarbons, no oil cess, reduced rates of royalty are just few of the many enabling provisions which will stimulate investments in the sector.
• This decision will go a long way towards reducing import dependence and achieving India’s quest for energy security. The recently-concluded discovered small field (DSF) bid round, though small, was encouraging as it gave an insight into the investment appetite of the sector.

Source:TH