(LiveMint)
India on Thursday put up for bidding 25 discovered oil and gas fields, holding resources of an estimated ₹1 trillion, as it looked to expedite production from areas lying idle for years. Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launching the second round of Discovered Small Fields (DSF) said the government is expecting as much as ₹45,000 crore in royalty, taxes and profit petroleum over the life of the fields.
In DSF-II, 59 discoveries have been clubbed into 25 contract areas spread over 3,042 square kilometers and eight sedimentary basins. The last date of bidding is 18 December and contracts will be awarded within January 2019. “In the DSF-I round, ₹34,600 crore of resources were bid out. In DSF-II, fields holding ₹1 lakh crore of hydrocarbon resources are being offered,” he said. In the first round of bidding for DSF last year, 134 bids were received for 34 blocks out of 46 on offer. Pradhan said the government is expecting a revenue of ₹9,000 crore from fields bid out in DSF-I, with first oil expected in 2020. Also, DSF-II would generate 85,000 jobs, he said.
