Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday launched the offshore bid round for oil blocks and assured transparency, efficiency, and ease of doing business to investors.

In a keynote address to industry leaders in Houston, the Union petroleum and natural gas minister described the initiatives taken by his ministry in accelerating the exploration and production activities in India.

Puri also gave his views on the importance of Coal Bed Methane in increasing India’s domestic production and reducing the country’s import burden.

He launched the Special CBM (popularly known as Coal Seam Gas) Bid Round — 2022 for International Competitive Bidding on Monday in Houston.

Simultaneously, Puri launched the Offshore Bid Round offering 26 blocks — 18 carved out by DGH and eight as a result of expression of interest (EoI) from potential investors — covering an area of approximately 2.3 lakh sqkm.

Out of 26 blocks, three blocks based on EoIs are onshore covering an area of only 3,666sqkm, a media release said.

India, which is the third largest energy consumer in the world, is likely to have one of the fastest-growing energy demands in the coming years.

The importance of domestic gas in the energy basket is extremely crucial considering the uptrend in gas demand, price, and rising import bills, the minister noted.

Sakhalin-1 ownership

India maintains a “healthy dialogue” with Russia and will look at what is offered following an announced ownership revamp to the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told Reuters.

Russia last week issued a decree allowing it to seize Exxon Mobil’s 30% stake and gave a Russian state-run company the authority to decide whether foreign shareholders including India’s ONGC Videsh can retain their participation in the project.

“We’ll look at what is the state of play and what’s on offer,” Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told Reuters on Monday.