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New Delhi, May 6 The Government has extended the NELP-VII (New Exploration Licensing Policy) bid date to June 30 from May 16. According to a Petroleum Ministry statement, this was done to give more time to prospective bidders to finalise their bidding strategy.

The seventh round of NELP was launched by Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas on December 13, 2007 offering 57 oil and gas blocks. The launch was followed by road shows at Mumbai, London, Houston, Calgary, Singapore and Perth. “In view of persistent demand, the Ministry has decided to extend the bid submission date for NELP-VII from May 16 to June 30,” the statement said.

NELP-VII has been having its share of confusion. There has been confusion amidst the prospective bidders on whether the tax breaks for oil and gas production under Section 80-IB (9) would be given or not. In the absence of clarity on the issue NELP-VII bid date was postponed to May 16 from April 25. The Government had earlier pushed back the bid date for 57 oil and gas blocks on offer under the latest round to April 25 from April 11 because of change in schedule for promotional roadshows and lack of clarity on the taxation issue.

The industry and the Petroleum Ministry have been seeking clarification so that bidders for the can participate with clarity.

The seven-year tax holiday has been the salient feature of all NELP bid rounds, including the latest one.

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