India’s oil and gas sector showcased active tenders across upstream exploration, LNG Supply, and downstream procurement. Public sectors, such as ONGC, OIL, IOCL, BPCL, and GAIL, dominated due to their financial strength, technical expertise, and compliance readiness. Various private players also participated aggressively but achieved selective success.
The most significant upstream development was the conclusion of the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP-XI), which offered 28 exploration blocks across multiple sedimentary basins, covering over 136,000 km². ONGC emerged as the top winner with 15 blocks, leveraging both standalone bids and strategic partnerships including three joint blocks with OIL (Oil India Limited) and one consortium block with Reliance-BP in the Saurashtra Basin. Private players such as Vedanta (Cairn Oil & Gas) secured seven blocks, focusing on onland and shallow-water basins to mitigate geological and operational risk, while OIL captured nine blocks, including ultra-deepwater acreage in the Krishna-Godavari and Mahanadi basins. Companies such as Sun Petrochemicals Ltd. and independent bids from Reliance or BP outside consortium arrangements participated but did not secure any blocks, primarily due to competitive scoring on revenue sharing and technical work program criteria rather than non-compliance.
In the downstream sector, long-term LNG supply agreements reinforced India’s energy security. ADNOC Gas awarded Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL)contracts for 2.2 MMTPA of LNG, with a combined estimated value of $7-9 billion, positioning IOCL as ADNOC’s largest LNG customer by 2029. Procurement tenders from PSUs, including IOCL, BPCL, GAIL, and EIL, were governed by strict technical and compliance requirements.
Bids are often rejected for missing mandatory documents such as GST registration, PAN, Earnest Money Deposits, or Integrity Pact Submissions for high-value contracts. Additionally, abnormally low pricing, non-compliance with L1 pricing, or failure to honor quantity flexibility clauses. Judicial precedents support the authority of PSUs to reject bids in the interest of project viability, emphasizing the need for realistic pricing and adherence to procedural requirements.
As per analysis, it has been determined that strong financial health and execution and capacity remain crucial for winning large or complex projects, while strategic partnerships can enhance competitiveness for technically demanding or high-value blocks.
Looking ahead, there have been significant opportunities in this sector, and PSUs are likely to dominate both exploration and procurement. Private players didn’t achieve much success in the bids. Future tender companies should learn from past mistakes and bid, aiming to participate effectively in India’s expanding oil and gas sector.
