The Directorate General of Hyrdrocarbons (DGH) had recently announced the completion of the first round of bidding under its new Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP), a part of its revamped Hyrdrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) unveiled in March 2016. OALP is a part of HELP, which itself was a replacement to the New Exploration and Licensing Policy. The ‘open acreage’ in OALP refers to the fact that potential investors are now able to choose exactly which areas they want to explore and develop. Under OALP, investors choose the exact areas they are interested in, convey their interest to the government, which then places just those blocks up for bidding, typically twice a year. Of the 110 e-bids received, 92 were received for inland blocks and 18 for offshore blocks.

Source: The Hindu May 13, 2018 16:30 UTC