Winners of DSF rounds sign contracts

The winners of the discovered small field (DSF) auction have signed contracts with the government, which will help them take possession of these oilfields and start developing them. In March, the government announced the winners of the first round of the DSF bid. Of the total 31 contracts to develop oilfields, 24 have been awarded to new players. The government had received 134 bids for 34 of the 46 contract areas bid out in November 2016. Besides auctioning small fields, the government had introduced a number of policy measures, including the new exploration policy and higher prices for gas from difficult fields. The government has set a roadmap for the industry to cut import dependence to 67 per cent by 2022 from the 82 per cent at present. The government estimates total revenues of about Rs 464 billion from the awarded small fields.