Bids invited by state-run oil explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for picking up its stake in four
coal-bed methane (CBM) blocks did not receive strong response.
ONGC is said to have received bids from only three firms for the blocks. These firms are UK-listed Great Eastern Energy Corporation (GEECL), Brisbane-based Dart Energy and a consortium of Jindal Steel and Deep Industries.
The four CBM block are located in Jharia and Bokaro of Jharkhand and North Karanpura and South Karanpura in Raniganj, West Bengal. ONGC plans to sell 35-45 percent stake in each of these blocks.
It wants to move out of the CBM business and focus on conventional oil and gas exploration and production. Forced by the ministry of petroleum and natural gas last July, the company decided to cancel its earlier bid for farming out the blocks and invited fresh bids from international players, too, in November.
It has been finding it tough to resolve land acquisition problems and the cycle speed of rigs. It wanted to bring a joint operator. So far, ONGC has spent about Rs 510 crore on the four blocks, which the winning bidder might have to pay in proportion to the stake.
International bidders have stayed away. In addition to the hassles while operating in India, for many companies exploring of CBM is not an attractive proposition, reports suggest.
Essar Energy has reportedly not bid for the blocks as the management is no longer interested in ONGCÂ’s blocks.
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