No takers for half the new Nelp blocks, global majors shy away

The spat between the Ambani brothers, the global meltdown and financial & technical constraints including a shortage of rigs have affected the bidding process for Nelp-VIII and CBM-IV. On the last day of bidding, on Monday, the directorate general for hydrocarbons (DGH) has received bids for only 36 of the 70 blocks that were on offer. Australia’s BHP Biliton and UK’s BG and Cairn Energy were the only notable foreign companies that joined the bid.

Mukesh Ambani-led RIL, which recently pleaded for a three-year moratorium on exploration citing unavailability of deepwater rigs, shunned the auction, though it showed interest in one coal-bed methane block that is on auction separately. RIL has surrendered 14 blocks to the government after spending Rs 1,400 crore in unsuccessful exploration. RIL had won 45 blocks in the new exploration licensing policy (Nelp) rounds.

Essar Oil was the most aggressive bidder, placing bids for six coal-bed methane (CBM) blocks.

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