ONGC wins 11 Oil Blocks in Ninth Auction Round

18 Apr 2025 CW Team

State-run ONGC has emerged as the top performer in OALP Round IX, winning 11 blocks independently and four more in partnerships, bringing its total to 15 blocks out of the 28 offered.

The latest auction, under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy, saw participation from public and private firms across 136,596 square kilometres of oil and gas fields. These include over 13,800 square kilometres of onshore blocks, 26,600 square kilometres of shallow-water zones, and 96,000 square kilometres of ultra-deepwater areas.

Cairn, the private exploration firm, bid for all 28 blocks and secured seven. Meanwhile, BP, the UK-based energy major, won its first Indian exploration block in partnership with ONGC and Reliance Industries. The consortium acquired block GS-OSHP-2022/2 in the Saurashtra basin, with a stake split of ONGC (40 per cent), Reliance (30 per cent) and BP (30 per cent). Earlier this year, BP also won the bid to operate the Mumbai High field, a key ONGC asset.

The government also launched a public consultation portal for the Draft Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules, 2025. These rules cover lease renewals, site restoration, unitisation, dispute resolution, and decarbonisation. The draft aims to operationalise new provisions under the Oilfields Regulation and Development Act.

Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the country accounts for a quarter of the expected global energy demand growth over the next two decades. He added that 76 per cent of India’s current exploration area was opened post-2014.

Source: Business Standard

Real Estate

30 Jul 2026

AI: The New Recruit

From getting ideas to evaluating designs, presenting concepts to clients and tracking projects, artificial intelligence (AI) is helping architects work better and faster.“AI allows architects to spend more time doing what only they can do: think critically, synthesise complexity and design with intent,” says Dikshu C Kukreja, Managing Principal, CP Kukreja Architects. “Every minute reclaimed from repetitive processes can be invested in creativity, contextual understanding, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation – the qualities that define meaningful architecture.”To read the ..

Redevelopment 2.0

In 2017, Mumbai identified 160,000 ageing buildings due for structural audit. Close to half of these were in the Western Suburbs. Redeveloping the oldest and structurally weakest of these would help unlock new housing, much needed given the city’s growing population density and constant developed area of 437.7 sq km. At 30,600 people per sq km in 2024, Mumbai’s density was almost thrice that of Gurugram, and 60 per cent higher than Bengaluru’s.Essentially, Mumbai’s realty market has demand. It has capital. It has realty development potential.Fast forward to 2026. Mumbai has 1,094 regis..

Cost intelligence will become a strategic contributor to project success

As India's construction industry accelerates its digital transformation, integrated platforms, AI and connected data are becoming essential to improving cost certainty, project efficiency and sustainability. Ravi Kumar, Sales Director – India, RIB Software India, shares how digital workflows are reshaping project planning, commercial management and decision-making across the construction value chain.India's construction sector is embracing digital technologies at an unprecedented pace. From your perspective, what are the biggest shifts driving this transformation and how is RIB Software enab..