New Delhi, November 9, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The government has extended the deadline for submitting bids for deepwater and ultra-deepwater oil and gas exploration blocks under the 10th and 11th rounds of the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) to December 10. This marks the seventh extension for OALP-X and the third for OALP-XI.
The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH), under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, announced the revised deadline, giving prospective investors nearly another month to assess the offshore blocks. The government has not specified the reason for the extension.
Media reports have suggested that the postponement could be linked to the Rs 84,084-crore Samudra Manthan National Offshore Exploration Scheme, whose operating guidelines were released on October 22. The scheme offers government support of up to 50 per cent of eligible deepwater exploration drilling costs, subject to a ceiling of Rs 675 crore per well.
Launched in 2025, OALP-X offers 25 blocks covering around 1.83 lakh sq km across 13 sedimentary basins. These include six onshore, six shallow-water, one deepwater and 12 ultra-deepwater blocks. Of the total, 19 are offshore blocks, including 13 deepwater and ultra-deepwater blocks covering approximately 1.24 lakh sq km. Bidding for onshore and shallow-water blocks closed in June, while the offshore deadline was extended several times from July 2025.
OALP-XI was launched in March this year with 21 blocks spanning 80,234.49 sq km across 11 sedimentary basins. It comprises 12 onshore, four shallow-water, one deepwater and four ultra-deepwater blocks. Nine offshore blocks cover around 45,296 sq km. Bidding for onshore and shallow-water blocks closed in June, while the deadline for the remaining deepwater and ultra-deepwater blocks has been extended from November 15 to December 10.
The Union Cabinet approved the Samudra Manthan scheme in July with an outlay of Rs 84,084 crore through FY31. It aims to unlock more than 600 million tonnes of additional oil-equivalent hydrocarbon resources.
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