ONGC signs offshore small fields development contracts

Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) signed six discovered small fields (DSF) contracts in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal under the DSF-III bid round launched by India's government June 10, 2021. The contracts are evenly divided between the two offshore areas, the company said in a September release. ONGC also signed two contracts for fields in Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh under the Special CBM Bid round on Sept. 22, 2021.

Petroleum Secretary Pankaj Jain asserted that India’s share in global energy consumption is going to rise to 13-14% in 2050 from 7% in 2019 and that the government has now opened no-go areas in exclusive economic zones (EEZs) for exploration and production, enabling 1 million sq km of acreage for exploration.

For the DSF-III bid round, a total of 75 fields under the discovered small field policy were combined in 32 contract areas (11 land, 21 offshore). The CBM special bid round offered a total of 15 blocks.