State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on Monday invited bids for the sale of the initial 2 million standard cubic metres per day of gas from its KG basin fields at a minimum price of $6.6 per million British thermal unit (mBtu).

According to the tender document, ONGC intends to start natural gas sale from its KG-DWN-98/2 block, which sits next to the Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL)-BP Plc operated KG-D6 fields, from June-end.

Initially, 2 million standard cubic metres per day of gas has been offered for sale through an e-auction.

ONGC has sought bids indexed to Brent crude oil. Bids have been sought at a minimum of 10.5 per cent of the three-month average Brent crude oil price.

At the current Brent crude oil price of $63, the minimum price comes to $6.6 per mBtu.

This price, however, will be subject to the ceiling or cap fixed by the government for deepsea fields every six months. The cap for six months beginning April 1 is $3.62 per mBtu.