ONGC wins licences for six small Indian discoveries

India's ONGC said September 12 it had been awarded six contracts for "discovered small fields" off the coasts of India, with three projects each lying in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal regions.

Four of the contract awards went to ONGC as a sole bidder, while the remaining two were awarded in partnership with its fellow Indian major Indian Oil Corp.

The contracts, expected to generate $1.9bn in development spending, form part of the DSF-III tender round launched June 2021 by the Indian ministry of petroleum and natural resources.

DSF-III licences cover 75 fields with modest proven reserves, as set out under India's discovered small field policy.

The 75 fields are clustered into 32 contract areas, split into 11 onshore concessions and 21 offshore.

In addition, ONGC said it was successful bidding for two blocks in India's special bid round for coal-bed methane acreage, securing a licence each in Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh. India concluded the CBM special bid round on May 31, awarding a total of 15 blocks.