New Delhi, August 04: The government has extended by two months the last date of bidding for the nation’s largest ever auction of oil and gas blocks to October 12, an official said.
A revised timetable has been drawn after finance minister Pranab Mukherjee extended the 7-year income tax holiday to natural gas production.
The first of the promotional roadshows for 70 blocks offered under the eighth edition of New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) and 10 coal bed methane (CBM) areas will be held in Mumbai on August 8, a Petroleum Ministry official said.
India had on April 9 launched the eighth round of auction of blocks for exploration under NELP with August 10 being the last date for bidding. But it was deferred over ambiguity on the availability of tax holidays for natural gas.
“The last date of bidding will be October 12,” he said.
After Mumbai, roadshows will be held in Houston (August 20-21), Calgary (August 24-25), London (September 8-9), Perth (September 22) and Brisbane (September 24-25).
Data centres have been set up at oil regulator DGH’s office in Noida, on the outskirts of the national capital, London, Calgary, Houston and Perth, he said.
The round is being relaunched after Mukherjee in his Budget for 2009-10 said that seven years holiday from payment of income tax on profits earned from production and sale of natural gas would be available for blocks to be awarded in NELP-VIII.
India is offering 24 deep-sea blocks, 28 shallow water blocks and 18 onland blocks for bidding in NELP-VIII hoping to attract USD 3 billion investment in exploration.
The 75 percent import-dependent nation has also offered for bidding 10 areas for extraction of gas from below the coal fields or CBM.
The Government had launched NELP-VIII and CBM-IV on April 9 and bids were to close on August 10.
Fearing investor backlash on ambiguity over the tax holiday for natural gas, the government had on April 17 deferred the promotional roadshows.
The finance ministry had in 2008-09 budget scrapped the seven-year tax holiday or exemption from payment of income tax on natural gas production. Though oil and gas naturally occurred together and a single well could be producing both, the incentive was restricted only for crude oil production.
The move drew flak from oil majors who kept away from the previous NELP-VII round that closed after the announcement.
–Agencies