OPEN ACREAGE LICENSING POLICY (OALP)

GS 3: Economy | Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc. Prelims Level: Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP)

Why in News?

The ministry of petroleum and natural gas has launched the third bidding round under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP).

OLAP:

  • It provides uniform licences for exploration and production of all forms of hydrocarbons, enabling contractors to explore conventional as well as unconventional oil and gas resources. Fields are offered under a revenue-sharing model.
  • It allows marketing and pricing freedom for crude oil and natural gas produced.
  • Under the OALP, once an explorer selects areas after evaluating the National Data Repository (NDR) and submits the EoI.
  • It is to be put up for competitive bidding and the entity offering the maximum share of oil and gas to the government is awarded the block.

National Data Repository:

  • It has been created to provide explorers’ data on the country’s repositories, allowing them
    to choose fields according to their capabilities.
  • Data received through the National Seismic Programme, an in-depth study of 26 sedimentary basins, are continuously being added to the NDR.
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