India's Hydrocarbon Outlook – 2022-2023

141 DGH: 3 DECADES OF UNLOCKING INDIA'S HYDROCARBON POTENTIAL rates similar to those in the NELP regime, the elimination of upfront signature bonuses, pricing and marketing freedom for oil and gas, and no carried interest by National Oil Companies (NOCs). Consequently, this policy has significantly reduced the regulatory burden on operators. The Marginal Field Policy, which was later renamed the Discovered Small Field (DSF) Policy, was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on September 2, 2015, and was formally notified in a notification on October 14, 2015. The policy aims to enable previously un-monetized discoveries of National Oil Companies (NOCs) to be brought into production. The first DSF Round was launched on May 25, 2016. Revolutionary Bid Rounds Under Discovered Small Field Policy, under Revenue Sharing Contract Regime i. Discovered Small Field Bid Round-I (2016) The launch of the DSF bid round in May 2016 was part of Hon’ble Prime Minister’s overarching vision to reduce India's dependence on imported Oil and Gas. Revenue Sharing Model Single license for Conventional & unconventional - conventional hydrocarbon Noupfront SignatureBonus; Reduced royalty rate in-line with HELP; and no Cess. Full Marketing and Pricing Freedom for Gas produced. Exploration allowed during entire contract Period 100% participation from foreign companies/joint ventures The bid round was concluded in a record time of 10 months, and the contracts were awarded in March 2017. The bidding process was transparent and conducted through an online bidding portal, with strong handholding support provided to bidders and investors. Prior technical experience was not a pre-qualification criterion. A total of 134 bids were received for 34 contract areas. Twenty-two companies, either singly or in consortium, were shortlisted for 31 contract areas. Of these 22 companies, 15 are new entrants to the E&P sector. Thirty contracts (23 onshore and 07 offshore) were successfully awarded. Twenty companies, either singly or in consortium, signed contracts. Thirteen of these companies were new entrants to the Indian E&P industry. Salient features of DSF Small Field Policy: Key Highlights of DSF Bid Round-I: The bid round offered 46 Contract Areas containing 67 fields across nine sedimentary basins for the exploration and extraction of oil and gas. These fields are estimated to hold an in-place reserve of 86 Million Metric Tonnes of oil and oil equivalent. The Government of India signed the Revenue Sharing Contracts (RSC) with the successful awardees of the DSF Bid Round 2016 at New Delhi on March 27, 2017. The RSCs were signed for 30 Contract Areas, including 23 onland and 07 shallow offshore, comprising of 43 discoveries with a cumulative area of 776.8 SKM and an in-place reserve of 44.66 MMT (O+OEG).