Oil and gas explorers such as Reliance Industries Ltd, ONGC, and ENI have got a three-year rig holiday to complete their exploration activities for blocks awarded under licensing rounds up to NELP-V. The holiday is only for those blocks where drilling commitments are pending as on January 1, 2009. In other words, the three contractors can now complete their work in this extended period without attracting any penalty.
The rig holiday would apply to 30 blocks involving three contractors. Of these 30 blocks, 16 belong to ONGC, 13 to RIL, and one to ENI. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Thursday approved the three-year rig holiday for the exploration companies.
According to an official statement, “A drilling moratorium of three years starting from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2010 is granted to deepwater block production sharing contracts (PSCs) signed up to NELP-V, where drilling commitments are existing as on January 1, 2009 (total of 30 exploration blocks).”
This policy will apply to all types of drilling, that is, exploratory and appraisal drilling where commitments are pending as on January 1, 2009 except for development drilling commitments. The companies have been seeking moratorium, as severe shortage of offshore drilling rigs since 2007 has delayed schedules.
Company Name | CMP |
---|---|
Reliance Industries | 2900.60 |
Indian Oil Corp. | 168.75 |
BPCL | 593.15 |
HPCL | 487.20 |
MRPL | 248.55 |
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