BP Exploration, ONGC, RIL, RNRL, Essar Oil and Jindal Steel are among 26 companies eyeing 10 CBM blocks, the bidding for which ended on Friday.
NEW DELHI: The world’s biggest coal bed methane (CBM) producer BP Exploration, state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL), Essar Oil and Jindal Steel & Power Ltd are among 26 companies eyeing 10 CBM blocks, the bidding for which ended on Friday.
A total of 54 bids were received for extraction of coal bed methane, a gas extracted from coal seams. India is aiming to produce 8-10 million standard cubic metre a day (mmscmd) gas from this source.
RIL and state-owned ONGC have put in bids for five blocks, while RNRL is vying for 10 blocks. BP and CDX Gas of the United States are both entering India for the first time with bids for blocks in Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.
Eight foreign companies including Arrow Energy of Australia, CDX Gas of US, MOLOPO of Australia, OMIMEX of US,
EIG of Australia, BP of US, GeoPetrol of France and Coal Gas of US have put in bids.
Sanjoy Joshi, joint secretary (exploration), said contracts for all the 10 CBM blocks would be awarded in two months and production sharing contracts (PSC) would be signed by October 31.
ONGC has tied up with Indian Oil Corporation for two blocks and with Gujarat State Petroleum Corp (GSPC) for another two while it is bidding alone for a block in Jharkhand. GAIL (India) Ltd tied up with Arrow Energy of Australia to bid for seven blocks. Essar Oil has bid for seven blocks.
Minister of state for petroleum and natural gas Dinsha Patel said CBM-III round attracted more number of bids than the earlier two rounds put together.
CBM-I received 16 bids from six Indian firms while CBM-II got 14 bids from 7 Indian and one foreign company.
Patel said the West Bengal block BB-CBM-2005/III got the maximum number of 10 bids while Jharkhand block RM-CBM-2005/III and Chhattisgarh block MR-CBM-2005/III received nine bids each.
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