New Delhi: In a notable first, Reliance Industries Ltd, BP, and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) have teamed up to secure an offshore oil block in Gujarat, marking a rare collaboration between the three energy majors. The trio won the GS-OSHP-2022/2 block in the latest round of the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP-IX), which saw ONGC emerge as the dominant bidder overall.
The ninth round of the OALP offered 28 blocks for exploration and production across a combined area of over 1.36 lakh square kilometres. ONGC, India’s largest oil and gas producer, secured 15 of these blocks—11 independently and four through joint ventures. One of the most high-profile wins was its partnership with Reliance and BP in the Gujarat offshore block.
“We are happy to confirm that we have signed a contract for a new exploration licence under the consortium of ONGC (40 per cent), RIL (30 per cent), and BP (30 per cent) for block GS-OSHP-2022/2 (Saurashtra Basin),” a BP spokesperson said. “This consortium brings together the strengths of India’s leading national oil company, its largest private conglomerate, and a global energy leader.”
Mining magnate Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Ltd, which had submitted bids for all 28 blocks, was awarded seven. Oil India Ltd secured six blocks on its own and an additional three in partnership with ONGC.
The signing ceremony for the contracts took place in New Delhi, attended by Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. During the event, Director General of the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH), Pallavi Jain, highlighted the scale of prior investments under the OALP scheme. “A total investment commitment of $3.77 billion has been made under the previous eight rounds,” she noted.
The OALP-IX round drew interest from a mix of public and private sector players. ONGC submitted standalone bids for 14 blocks and partnered with Oil India Ltd and Indian Oil Corporation for four others. Including its joint bid with Reliance-BP, ONGC submitted bids for 19 of the 28 blocks on offer.
Sun Petrochemicals Ltd placed bids for seven blocks but did not feature among the major winners. According to officials, four blocks received three bids each, while the remainder had two bidders, often including Vedanta.
Under OALP terms, blocks are awarded to companies offering the highest revenue share to the government and the most promising work programmes.
The government has continued to push for increased exploration through successive OALP rounds since the policy was introduced in 2017. Unlike earlier systems where the government identified areas, OALP allows companies to propose areas for exploration. Identified zones are grouped and offered twice annually, with a scoring advantage for firms that originally selected them.
Despite this flexibility, private sector involvement has remained limited. Vedanta dominated the inaugural round by winning 41 out of 55 blocks and added 10 more in later rounds. State-run companies have otherwise led the field.
Looking ahead, the government launched OALP-X in February, putting 25 new blocks on the table across land, shallow water, deepwater, and ultra-deepwater zones. Bidding for this round is scheduled to close on July 31.
Reliance and BP already operate the KG-D6 block in the Krishna Godavari basin, where they produce about 28 million standard cubic meters of gas per day. Their latest collaboration with ONGC signals a broader push to diversify exploration efforts and reduce India’s reliance on oil imports, which cost the country $222 billion annually.