The government has extended the last date of bidding for the 11 oil and gas blocks on offer in the fifth round and decided to merge the next two rounds into one in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

The fifth bid round under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) opened in January and was to initially close on March 18. However, earlier this month, the bid date was extended to April 16. The new deadline hasn’t been notified yet.

The directorate general of hydrocarbon said, “In view of the lockdown because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the last date for bid submission (April 16, 2020) for India OALP bid round-V will be extended. The revised date shall be notified soon.”

It said, “The EoI (expression of interest) cycle for OALP round-VI (ending March 31, 2020) and round-VII (ending July 31, 2020) shall stand merged. Bidding round would be launched based on EoIs received till July 31, 2020.”

Under the OALP bid rounds, companies identify the areas they want to explore oil and gas during the EoI rounds. These identified areas are then put up for bidding by the DGH.

In 2019, the EoI submission cycle under the OALP bid rounds was increased from two to three times in a year. The first window is from April 1 to July 31, the second from August 1 to November 30 and the third from December 1 to March 31.