New Delhi, Feb. 3: The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is holding talks with global majors such as Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Petrobas to jointly bid for oil and gas blocks in the seventh round of the new exploration licensing policy (Nelp VII).

Sarthak Behuria, chairman of the IOC, said, “We are in talks with several companies, both domestic and overseas, to bid for Nelp-VII.

“During the road shows we have had contacts with Exxon Mobil and Chevron of the US and Brazil’s Petrobas and the response has been very positive,” he said.

Local players

Behuria said the company was also in talks with domestic companies such as Reliance Industries, GAIL (India) Limited, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Oil India for joint venture partnerships.

He said, “I am not in a position to say who we are going to bid with as these things are decided closer to the bid date.”

Of the 57 oil and gas blocks on offer, nine are in shallow water, 19 in deep sea and 29 onshore.

The company wants to bid for the nine shallow water blocks on offer as an operator. The shallow water blocks, called Type-S, cover small areas of up to 200 square kilometres. The bidders for these blocks do not require any prior exploration experience.

“We have bought data packages for eight to nine blocks and will be bidding on our own for the nine small blocks,” Behuria said.

For the other blocks, the IOC would need an experienced oil and gas producer to qualify for the bidding.

The bids for Nelp VII will close on April 11, and the entire process will be completed within six months.

This is the largest ever offering of oil blocks, and the government expects to draw between $3 billion and $3.5 billion from the sale.