23 OIL & GAS BLOCKS OFFERED

New Delhi, Feb. 10: The government on Sunday launched the third bidding round under its open acreage licensing policy (OALP), according to a government statement.

Twenty-three blocks covering an area of

32,000 square kilometres were offered for bidding, out of which five are for extraction of coal bed methane.

Total exploration acreage is expected to more than triple to

300,000 square km in two years ending 2019, the statement read. The third round of bidding is expected to generate up to $700 million, the government said.

The government has set a target to cut India’s dependence on foreign oil to 67 per cent by 2022.—Reuters