As the government is all set to launch the 9th round bidding for oil and gas blocks under NELP regime, private sector players have demanded government must restrict participation by public sector E&P companies like ONGC and OIL to attract private sector to the E&P business.
The government is likely to launch the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP)-IX round in October and in preparation of that upstream nodal authority DGH held an investor meet today to seek comments of the industry on policy regulations.
Gujarat-based Adani Group suggested that “to promote higher private participation, the number of blocks allocated to PSUs/ national oil companies has to be limited to one-third of the total offer.”
ONGC and Oil India have dominated the eight previous rounds of NELP, bagging over two-thirds of the 235 exploration blocks or areas awarded so far. 70 blocks were offered in the NELP-VIII round last year, of which only 32 were awarded, most of which went to ONGC and OIL.
Cairn India, which gave the nation its largest oil find in more than two decades, wanted national oil companies (NOCs) to be restricted to 50 per cent participating interest in any block so as to compel them to take private partners.

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