Indian government has plans to re-open the eighth phase of bidding for oil and gas blocks under the new exploration and licensing policy (NELP-VIII) in the second week of August 2009, Business Standard reported. The bidding was earlier opened on April 9, 2009 but as clarity on tax holiday was required earlier to the start of bidding, the road shows for the bidding were halted.

70 oil and gas blocks comprising of 170,000 square kilometers will be offered under the latest bidding round.

Mumbai, Calgary, Perth, Brisbane, London and Perth re expected to be included in the revised road show. “We expect to relaunch the eighth round in August after Parliament session comes to an end. We expect the clarity on tax-related concessions for gas production to be in place by then. Investors should know in advance the various incentives before they bid for any block,” V K Sibal, director general, DGH, told Business Standard.

For the purpose of a tax holiday, the Budget 2008-09 had taken out natural gas from the definition of mineral oil.

The government ha intended to organize promotional road shows between April 20, 2009 and May 12, 2009 at many national and international sites to attract investors. Bids are to end on August 10, 2009. However, it was deferred because of a scarcity of clarity over a tax holiday for natural gas.

In the 2008-09 Budget, the finance ministry has removed the seven-year tax holiday, or exemption from payment of income tax, on natural gas production. Although oil and gas naturally take place together and a single well could be producing both, the incentive was limited to crude oil production.

Sibal said the geo-scientific data on the blocks were being made accessible to potential investors through data rooms in Noida, London, Houston and other sites.

“The Noida data room is overbooked. Many international companies are assessing the data in London and Houston. There is interest but the companies are waiting for announcement of the schedule,” Sibal said.

10 blocks other blocks are being offered, along with 70 oil and gas blocks, under the fourth round of coal-bed methane (CBM-IV) exploration policy for exploration of gas.

Since 1997, when the government opened the NELP, it has given 206 blocks. Among these, 68 oil and gas discoveries have been made in 19 blocks, setting up reserves of 500 million tonnes of oil and oil-equivalent gas.