India extends deadline for the fifth OALP bidding round further

The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons has extended the last date of bidding for the 11 oil and gas blocks on offer in the fifth bid round and decided to merge the next two rounds into one in view of the COVID-19 lockdown in the country. The fifth bid round under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy opened in January 2020 and was to initially close on March 18, 2020. However, the bid date that was first moved to April 16, 2020 has now been extended further.