(MC)
India’s hydrocarbon exploration will come under the guidelines of the Open Acreage Licensing (OAL), which allows companies to cherry-pick their own areas for exploration from July 1. OAL, a policy initiative of the previous United Progressive Alliance government, will be offered under the Hydrocarbon Exploration Licensing Policy which is set to replace the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP).
The Hindu Businessline reported that following a trial run, an official found OAL to have the potential to attract multinational corporations like Exxon. Such companies have been keeping India low on their exploration priority list. Unlike NELP, which was based on cost recovery, OAL will work on a revenue-sharing model.The OAL was intended to cut the red tape and plug the gaps in the NELP model, a senior official in the Ministry for Petroleum and Natural Gas told the newspaper. The OAL will offer 2.7 million sq km out of the total 3.14 million sq km in the Indian Sedimentry Basin, available in the National Data Repository (NDR), he said.
