Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP)

Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) Latest News

Oil India undertook a seismic study of the blocks it was awarded during the ninth round of the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) to chart a bidding strategy for the tenth round.

About Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP)

• It was introduced by the Government of India (GoI) as a part of the Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (“HELP”) on March 30, 2016.
  • HELP replaced the New Exploration and Licensing Policy (NELP) regime, which was in existence for over 18 years. 
• OALP is a major reform that changed how companies can apply for oil & gas exploration blocks in India.
• Under the OALP, the company has the option to undertake prospecting for fuels in areas which are not notified by the GoI. 
  • Prospecting refers to drilling the selected area to check availability of hydrocarbon fuels. 
• The OLAP gives a company the opportunity to prospect for fuels in any area where the technical feasibility study indicates the presence of hydrocarbons. 
  • The technical feasibility study is an analysis which indicates the likelihood of availability of hydrocarbons in an area. 
• Once the feasibility study shows the presence of hydrocarbons, the company can proceed with the exploration after obtaining permission from the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH). 
• If multiple requests for sanction are received for the same area, the DGH will make an allotment by conducting an auction. 
• Until the OALP was introduced, exploration for hydrocarbons was allowed only in the case of areas covered by the tenders issued by the GoI. 
• Under the OALP the exploration can be made without waiting for an announcement from the GoI that an area is available for exploration. 
• The OALP regime also allows companies access to seismic data at the National Data Repository (NDR).
  • NDR is an online data library containing:
    • Seismic surveys
    • Geological maps
    • Well logs
    • Exploration history
  • Companies can study the data and propose new blocks.

Source: TH

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