Latest news with #OALP-IX
Mint
23-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
Oil India in talks with ExxonMobil, Total, Petrobras for joint bids in new auction round
New Delhi: State-owned Oil India Ltd is in talks with global exploration and production (E&P) majors, including ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies and Petrobras, to jointly explore hydrocarbon blocks in India, said two people in the know of the developments. Oil India's one-on-one talks with these companies are largely focused on a possible partnership for the 10th round of auctions under the country's Open Average Licensing Policy (OALP-X). In this round, the government plans to offer 2.5 lakh sq. km. area for exploration. The OALP-X round was launched in February and the deadline for submission of bids is 31 July. According to one of the people cited above, there is likelihood of an extension of the deadline. 'Talks are underway with major global players, Total, ExxonMobil and Petrobras. It is being looked at if Oil India can get a partner for the upcoming 10th round of auctions for deep and ultradeep water blocks," said the person mentioned above. 'The partner would also have the option to come together for blocks bagged in the previous round (ninth)." Queries sent to Oil India, TotalEnergies, Exxonmobil, and Petrobras remained unanswered till press time. Apart from this, Oil India is also scouting for a technical service partner in its old and legacy oilfields, where it is looking to increase production. In an interview to Mint in May, Ranjit Rath, chairman and managing director of Oil India, had said several overseas national as well as private oil companies have shown interest in jointly bidding for blocks in the upcoming auction round. 'We have several engagements currently going on," Rath had said. 'With some of them, we have got NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) signed, and we are having data exchanges," the chairman said. In February, the Maharatna company had signed a memorandum of understanding with Petrobras, Brazil's state-owned oil firm, to collaborate in the exploration and production of hydrocarbon resources in India's offshore regions. Global collaborations are critical to bring in expertise for deep and ultra deepwater blocks. 'For shallow water and onshore exploration and development, most of the companies have the required technologies. But in the case of deep and ultra deepwater blocks, there are challenges in every stage, exploration, development and production, due to the ocean weight, the pressure that the ocean creates," said Gaurav Moda, partner and energy sector leader at EY-Parthenon India. 'Only a few global players have the expertise to explore and produce oil from such blocks. They also require different kind of equipment compared to shallow water and onshore exploration and extraction." Noting the urgency in India's aim to harness its domestic reserves, Moda said that rather than trying to indigenously develop such technologies, striking a partnership with a global player would be more beneficial. Under the OALP-IX round, Oil India bagged nine blocks, adding 51,000 sq. km. to its exploration portfolio. Three of the blocks--one each in Cambay, Mahanadi and Assam Shelf basins--were won in partnership with its public sector peer Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd (ONGC), while another six were acquired on its own. ONGC, together with UK-headquartered BP plc and Reliance Industries Ltd, won the bid to explore Saurashtra basin under OALP-IX, marking BP's foray into India's upstream oil and gas space. Oil India's move to scout for global partnerships is in line with the government's push to attract overseas investments in the upstream space in a bid to raise local production and reduce the country's dependence on imports. During his visit to Vienna for the 9th OPEC International Seminar earlier this month, union minister for petroleum and natural gas Hardeep Singh Puri met chiefs of global energy giants and discussed potential collaborations in light of India's ambitious E&P plans. The minister had said India is set to explore nearly 2.5 lakh sq. km. in new offshore and onshore areas under OALP-X, which will make it one of the world's largest bidding rounds. In FY25, Oil India produced 3.46 million tonne (MT) of crude and natural gas, amounting to 3.25 MT of oil equivalent. This took its total hydrocarbon production to 6.71 MT of oil equivalent, the highest ever for the company. It aims to achieve oil and gas production of 10-12 MT of oil equivalent by the end of the decade. In 2020, under the third round of auctions, Oil India had won two blocks in the Andaman basin, touted as an oil-rich region.
Mint
05-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Oil India in talks with global majors for joint E&P bids, says CMD Ranjit Rath
New Delhi: State-run Oil India Ltd (OIL) is in talks with global oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) companies to partner for exploration in deep and ultra-deep acreages won by it and also to jointly participate in upcoming bid rounds, its top official said. Ranjit Rath, chairman and managing director of OIL, said in an interview that several government-owned national oil companies (NOCs) as well as private international oil companies (IOCs) have shown interest in jointly bidding for blocks in the upcoming 10th round of auction under Open Acreage Licensing Programme (OALP-X). Further, he said that OIL is looking at expanding its international footprint to ensure energy security, and is also exploring a foray into critical mineral exploration overseas, through partnerships. It has already bagged a domestic vanadium and graphite block and is vying for more critical mineral mines. In February, the Maharatna company had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Petrobras, Brazil's state-owned oil major, to collaborate in the exploration and production of hydrocarbon resources in India's offshore regions. Rath said deliberations with Petrobras are underway. Also read | Major oil & gas discovery expected from blocks offered in OALP rounds, says Oil India CMD 'We are extremely upbeat about our possible collaboration with Petrobras," said Rath, adding that the IEW (India Energy Week 2025), a platform created by the ministry of petroleum and natural gas this February, helped the company reach out to both national and international oil companies for collaborations. The MoU with Petrobas was also signed at the IEW. 'We have several engagements currently going on," Rath said. 'With some of them, we have got NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) signed and we are having data exchanges." Rath added that all other oil companies contacted during IEW–both international and national–are showing keen interest for participation with OIL not only in the OALP-IX blocks, 'where we have already secured the blocks, but also possible joint-bidding in OALP-X". Read this | Oil India to be first state-run firm to tighten monetary limit for arbitration cases after finance ministry's nudge The talks for joint bidding with global players come at a time when another state-run E&P major–ONGC–has tied up with UK-headquartered bp plc and Reliance Industries. The three companies jointly bagged a block in the Saurashtra Basin in OALP-IX. The blocks were awarded last month. Apart from Petrobras and bp, other global majors in this space include Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil and Petronas. Under the recently ended OALP-IX, OIL bagged nine blocks, adding 51,000 sq. km to its exploration portfolio. Three of the blocks–one each in Cambay basin, Mahanadi basin and Assam Shelf basin–were won in partnership with ONGC. According to Rath, OIL is also looking at more international exploration and production blocks and would look at partnering with local players for such projects. 'We are in discussion with several IOCs and NOCs as part of our overseas investment and discussions are at various stages…these are all under NDA," he said. 'In some cases, due diligence is also initiated. So, we are looking at both exploration and producing assets on a holistic basis." IOCs and NOCs refer to international oil companies and national oil companies, respectively. And this | ONGC Videsh, Oil India may join forces again to bid for new offshore blocks in Bangladesh As of 31 March 2024, its overseas E&P comprises 10 assets spread over seven countries–Libya, Gabon, Nigeria, Venezuela, Mozambique, Bangladesh and Russia. The portfolio includes four producing assets spread across Russia & Venezuela. Two assets, one each in Mozambique and Nigeria are under development. Four assets in Libya, Gabon and Bangladesh are under exploration. Rath also emphasized on the company's plans for acquisition of critical mineral mines both in India and overseas. "In recent times, we have secured one block of graphite and vanadium in Arunachal Pradesh, which has already been allocated to us. We have submitted bids for two potash blocks. And we are also looking at geographies, for overseas asset acquisitions in critical mineral space. And we are not looking at all the critical minerals per se. We are looking at a few select critical minerals where we see there is a commonality of understanding, both in terms of exploration possibilities or in and around our area of operation," Rath said. In August last year, the company signed an MoU with state-owned Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL) to collaborate for opportunities in critical mineral assets overseas. And read | Oil India plans green hydrogen hubs in energy-transition bid Speaking on OIL's efforts to boost oil production, Rath said the company has already arrested the decline in production from mature fields. 'We have secured a growth of 3-5% in the last three years. And, like last year, this year also we have scripted the highest-ever production, both oil and natural gas cumulative," he said. In the previous financial year (FY25), the company produced 6.71 million metric tonnes of oil and oil equivalent (MMTOE), compared to 6.54 MMTOE in FY24. Rath added that drilling is underway in the shallow waters on either side of Andaman island and a total of four wells would be drilled in the Andaman & Nicobar offshore waters.
