GoI Extends Deepsea Oil Block Bidding Deadline to December 10; Seventh Extension for OALP-X

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, 2026, giving prospective investors another 25 days to evaluate the offshore acreage and submit their offers.

The latest extension marks the seventh postponement for OALP-X and the third for OALP-XI, highlighting the continuing challenges in attracting investment into India’s technically complex and capital-intensive deepwater exploration sector.

The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH), the upstream regulatory agency under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, has revised the deadline from November 15 to December 10 for deepwater and ultra-deepwater blocks offered under both bidding rounds.

While the DGH has not specified the reason for the latest extension, the move comes shortly after the government announced the operational guidelines for the Rs 84,084-crore Samudra Manthan National Offshore Exploration Scheme on October 22.

The scheme provides government financial assistance of up to 50 per cent of eligible deepwater exploration drilling costs, subject to a ceiling of Rs 675 crore per well. The additional time could allow prospective investors to assess the financial support framework and its implications for the economics of offshore exploration.

OALP-X: 25 blocks across 13 sedimentary basins

Launched in February 2025, the 10th OALP round offered 25 exploration blocks covering approximately 1,82,589 square kilometres across 13 sedimentary basins.

The offering comprised six onshore blocks, six shallow-water blocks, one deepwater block and 12 ultra-deepwater blocks. Of the total, 19 blocks are offshore, including 13 deepwater and ultra-deepwater blocks covering approximately 1,24,327 square kilometres.

Bidding for onshore and shallow-water acreage concluded on June 19, 2026. However, the deadline for deepwater and ultra-deepwater blocks has undergone repeated extensions since the round was originally launched.

OALP-XI offers another 80,234 sq km

The 11th OALP round, launched in March 2026, offered 21 blocks covering 80,234.49 square kilometres across 11 sedimentary basins.

These include 12 onshore blocks, four shallow-water blocks, one deepwater block and four ultra-deepwater blocks. Nine blocks are offshore, covering approximately 45,296 square kilometres.

As in OALP-X, bidding for onshore and shallow-water acreage closed in June, while the deadline for the remaining offshore blocks has now been extended to December 10.

Rs 84,084-crore Samudra Manthan scheme aims to reduce exploration risks

The repeated extensions come against the backdrop of the government’s ambitious efforts to revive offshore exploration through the Samudra Manthan National Offshore Exploration Scheme.

Approved by the Union Cabinet in July 2026, the scheme has an outlay of Rs 84,084 crore through FY 2030-31 and aims to unlock more than 600 million tonnes of additional oil-equivalent hydrocarbon resources.

Its major components include Rs 28,534 crore for offshore seismic data acquisition and processing, Rs 43,200 crore for accelerated offshore exploration, including the drilling of 60 deepwater exploratory wells, Rs 10,000 crore for common offshore infrastructure and Rs 2,000 crore for oil and gas manufacturing and services zones.

The financial assistance is particularly significant given that a single deepwater exploratory well can cost an estimated $125 million to $150 million.

Energy security remains a major driver

India imports more than 88 per cent of its crude oil requirements, making the discovery and development of domestic hydrocarbon resources a strategic priority.

The government has undertaken several policy reforms to attract domestic and international investors, including the shift towards revenue-sharing contracts, greater marketing and pricing freedom for produced hydrocarbons, amendments to the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Act and the opening of previously restricted offshore acreage.

However, the repeated extensions in the two latest OALP rounds underline the difficulty of translating policy incentives into investment commitments in frontier exploration.

The December 10 deadline will be an important test of investor interest in India’s deepwater and ultra-deepwater resources and the effectiveness of the government’s latest financial incentives.