Government has extended the deadline for oil block bids to January 31

The government has extended the deadline for submitting bids in the eighth exploration licensing round yet again. The deadline has been pushed back from December 30 to January 31, according to the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) on its website. On July 7, the government launched the eighth round of bidding under the open acreage licensing policy (OALP), with the original bid submission deadline of September 6. Due to a lack of investor interest, the DGH has frequently extended timelines in this and previous rounds. Ten oil and gas blocks have been offered in the eighth round. 134 blocks have been awarded in the first seven rounds. Also read: Petronet LNG to set up floating LNG terminal at Gopalpur ONGC to drill seven development wells in Bengal