Under the hammer

New Delhi, Dec. 2: The government is likely to launch a fresh round of oil-and-gas-block auctions after the winter session of Parliament that ends on December 7.

These auctions are part of the government’s new exploration and licence policy, and the upcoming auctions are the seventh in the series.

The auctions will be the largest-ever with 60 oil and gas blocks on sale. Of these blocks, 30 are onshore, 15 are shallow water and 15 deep water and ultra-deep water blocks.

The last round of bidding was for 52 blocks, which was many times bigger than the earlier rounds.

In November, the directorate general of hydrocarbons had postponed the launch of the latest auctions as Parliament was in session and it was difficult for petroleum minister Murli Deora to attend roadshows abroad to attract foreign participation.

Sources said the government could launch the auctions in the second week of December, an appropriate time as Parliament would not be in session. However, the roadshows in the US, Europe and Australia can be held only after the Christmas and New Year holidays.

The auctions have been postponed many times. It was initially slated for April, but the controversy over the pricing of gas from Reliance Industries’ oil and gas block in the Krishna-Godavari basin and the shortage of drilling rigs delayed the process.

The government has now made some changes in bid evaluation criteria and the production sharing contract.

Under the new norms, a contractor must sell the gas in India till the country is self-sufficient in gas.

The government has also proposed that domestic companies interested in deep water blocks must form a consortium with foreign companies.

A joint venture with a minimum 10 per cent foreign stake will get a maximum 10-point weightage during the evaluation of the bids for such blocks.

Meanwhile, the government has set up a group of ministers to look into the issue of fuel prices.

This panel will be headed by external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee.

The group also includes defence minister A.K. Antony, finance minister P. Chidambaram, railway minister Lalu Prasad and road transport, highways and shipping minister T.R. Baalu.