(HT)
In a bid to quicken the award of licences, the Cabinet on Wednesday allowed ministers of finance and petroleum to award oil and gas blocks to winners in the ongoing auction, bids for which are due on May 2. Till now, only the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister had the powers to approve the award of a block or area for the exploration and production of oil and gas.
“In line with the government’s initiative of ease of doing business, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for delegating the powers to minister of petroleum and natural gas and finance minister to award blocks/contract areas to successful bidders,” an official statement said. The two ministers will approve the award based on the recommendations of a panel of secretaries, called the Empowered Committee of Secretaries (ECS).
The delegation of power is for Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) bid rounds under the Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP). Presently, the first round of OALP is underway, with bids for 55 exploration blocks on offer for prospecting of oil and gas due on May 2. These blocks are to be awarded by July.
