London: More than 150 delegates from 83 companies attended India's 2003 oil and gas road show in London, as 24 blocks were put up for bids under the government's new exploration licensing policy (NELP).

The response was encouraging to the high-level delegation led by Oil and Gas Minister Ram Naik, who commented, "Our confidence has increased, and the response will be better, which will finally result in more oil and gas for India."

He said that the earlier perception that India did not have sufficient reserves of hydrocarbons had been belied by important discoveries in 2002 including huge deepwater gas discoveries in the Krishna- Godavari basin.

Since NELP was launched three years ago, there have been nine discoveries spread over the Krishna- Guava basin and Gujarat with reserves estimated at more than 300 million metric tonnes.

Some of the exploration and production stakeholders involved in these discoveries were at the road show to speak about their experiences and their plans. This is the fourth round of offers under NELP. The 24 blocks are made up of 11 on-land, 12 deep-water and one shallow water.

The on-land blocks are spread over Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Manipur, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Tripura. Eight of the deep-water blocks are on the East Coast and four on the West, and the single shallow water block is on the East.

The road show, which opened in Delhi in May, will take place in Calgary, Canada, on June 9 and 10, in Houston, Texas, on June 11 and 12 and in Perth, Australia, on June 26 and 27. The closing date for bids is September 30 and decisions will be announced by December 31.

Naik declared, "Last year I said we had thrown the red tape into the dustbin. Today, I say that we are spreading the red carpet for all those who want to join India in exploration and production."

ANI