9 CBM BLOCKS OFFERED FOR GLOBAL BIDDING
UNDER CBM-II
Shri Ram Naik, Minister of
Petroleum & Natural Gas and Shri Kariya Munda, Minister of
Coal jointly launched the second offer of bidding under Coal Bed
Methane Policy (CBM-II) on 23rd May at New Delhi. The
Ministers said that CBM-II seeks to attract investors for exploration
and production of CBM. 9 Blocks covering the states of Andhra
Pradesh (1), Chattisgarh (1) – partially in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat
(1), Jharkhand (2), Madhya Pradesh (1), Maharashtra (1) and Rajasthan
(2) are on offer.
Shri Naik mentioned that Government
of India has signed 8 contracts for exploration and production
of CBM in the country. Work in some of the blocks is already under
implementation. The 8 blocks are located in Jharkhand (3), Madhya
Pradesh (2) and West Bengal (3). CBM is expected to supplement
conventional sources of natural gas and would help in bridging
the domestic demand - supply gap.
Shri Kariya Munda, Minister
(Coal) said that his Ministry was working in close cooperation
with the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas to give impetus
to CBM exploration and production in the country and facilitate
investors in their search for CBM.
Shri Naik brought out that
the 9 blocks, which are on offer have a CBM resource of about
500 billion cubic metres. Blocks in Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh,
Gujarat and Maharashtra have been offered under the CBM Policy
for the first time.
Shri Munda said that Central
Mine Planning and Design Institute Limited (CMPDI) and Directorate
General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) have jointly worked to enable preparation
of Information Dockets and Data Packages for the 9 blocks on offer.
He said that CMPDI has been associated since the first round of
CBM in providing data and technical information to DGH for preparing
Information Dockets and Data Packages. DGH has prepared information
dockets and data packages in respect of the 9 blocks. Interested
companies can view the data at New Delhi and Houston which can
be purchased from the New Delhi Office of DGH.
A special website giving the
salient technical, fiscal and contractual details of the offer
as well as the bid documents has been created at www.india-cbm2.com
.
The Model Contract and other
bid documents have been reviewed based on feed back received from
companies at the time of finalization of contracts for CBM-I.
The Model Contract seeks to provide greater clarity and reduce
various time-frames.
The bid closing date for CBM-II
is 15th October, 2003. This should provide adequate
time to the interested companies to study data and make up their
minds on investing either on their own or through alliances. Government
will endeavour to award the blocks and sign the contracts by the
end of this year.
Shri Naik mentioned that within
this same month, Government has launched both NELP-IV and CBM-II
as a part of its overall strategy to enhance the hydrocarbon security
of the country. He added that the Petroleum Ministry would undertake
a promotional programme alongwith the Ministry of Coal to highlight
the investment opportunities available under CBM-II to the prospective
investors. The road shows for CBM-II have been planned at New
Delhi (27th May) and at Houston (12th – 13th
June). The promotional road shows at Houston is being held alongwith
NELP-IV road shows.
Shri Naik pointed out that
by taking aggressive steps to explore and produce CBM, India has
joined a select club of CBM nations such as USA, China, Australia,
Poland, Russia and UK, which are engaged in CBM activities.
Shri Naik and Shri Munda expressed
optimism that CBM-II blocks would interest companies to participate
in bidding process and avail this investment opportunity for exploration
and production of CBM in India.
