57 oil and gas blocks to be offered in NELP VII

57 oil and gas blocks to be offered in NELP VII

NEW DELHI: India will offer 57 oil and gas blocks for bidding in the seventh round of auctions under New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) on December 13, that may see steel baron Lakshmi N Mittal bid for the first time, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said on Monday.

"We will announce NELP-VII on December 13,'' he told reporters here. Of the 57 blocks to be offered, nine are in shallow water, 19 in deep sea and 29 in onland. Most of the deepwater blocks would be in the western offshore. Bids are due on April 11, 20 08 and the awards would be decided by June.

"Mittal had a meeting with me on Saturday and he has expressed interest in NELP. I think he will bid, mostly likely to tie-up with some companies,'' Mr Deora said. The India born billionaire is keen on expanding rapidly in oil and gas space. He has a jo int venture with Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) for acquiring oil properties abroad and is partnering Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd in its $5-billion Bhatinda refinery in Punjab and a proposed refinery-cum-petrochemical complex at Vizag in Andhra Pradesh .

Mr Deora said the first roadshow for NELP-VII would be held in Mumbai on January 8 and the overseas promotional campaign would be kicked-off towards the end of January. Roadshows are planned at a number of places including Houston, Calgary, London and Pe rth. - PTI