The government has extended the deadline for submitting bids under the latest oil and gas block auction for the second time, allowing investors more time to participate, according to the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH). The bid submission deadline for the 10th round of the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP-X) — the largest acreage offering so far — has now been extended by two months to 31 December 2025, the DGH announced on its website. The OALP-X round, launched in February 2025 during India Energy Week (IEW) in New Delhi, was originally scheduled to close on 31 July before being extended to 31 October. The fourth round of Discovered Small Field (DSF) bids and the special Coal-Bed Methane (CBM) round have also been extended till 31 December. Under OALP-X, a total of 25 blocks covering about 191,986 square kilometres have been offered for exploration. The acreage includes six onshore blocks, six shallow-water tracts, one deepwater block, and 12 ultra-deepwater blocks spread across 13 sedimentary basins. Among these, four blocks covering 47,058 sq km are located in the Andaman basin, which Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has described as holding the potential for oil and gas reserves greater than those in Guyana, a global exploration hotspot. This round represents India’s largest-ever offering for exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, key inputs for fuel, power generation, fertiliser production, and household consumption. In the previous nine rounds, 378,000 sq km of area was offered. The OALP-IX round, launched last year, was the largest prior to OALP-X and featured 28 blocks spread across 136,000 sq km. The Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) was introduced in 2016 as part of the Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP). It shifted India’s exploration approach from a government-driven block allocation to one where companies can identify and propose areas for bidding. HELP’s key features include reduced royalty rates, no oil cess, exploration rights over retained areas for the full contract term, and marketing and pricing freedom for operators. The OALP-IX round, held in September last year, attracted four bidders, including Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Oil India Ltd (OIL), and Vedanta Ltd. Most blocks received two bids each. Notably, it also saw Reliance Industries Ltd and BP Plc partnering with ONGC for a Gujarat offshore block — their first joint participation under OALP. ONGC secured 11 blocks independently and three more in partnership with OIL, including the shallow-water block in the Gujarat-Saurashtra basin with Reliance-BP. Vedanta, led by Anil Agarwal, won seven blocks, while OIL took the remaining six. Before OALP-IX, Reliance and BP had participated in only two of the previous eight rounds since 2017 and had won both blocks. The government expects that expanding exploration acreage under OALP will boost domestic oil and gas production, helping to reduce India’s USD 220 billion annual crude import bill and strengthen energy security.