India’s Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry doesn’t plan to bar Chinese companies from bidding in the upcoming auction of 46 oil and gas blocks.
“We have no plan to ban anyone. It is for the Home Ministry to decide and they have not informed us anything on these lines,” Petroleum Secretary Vivek Rae told the media on sidelines of Petrotech 2014.
“We want companies to find more oil and gas,” he said.
The Secretary said that to attract more explorers to bid for acreages in India, his Ministry is seeking 10 years tax holiday for ultra deep water exploration, according to a report by The Hindu.
Current tax holidaya are granted for seven years.
The Government will auction 46 oil and gas blocks at the next bidding round. It said the date will be in early 2014.
“According to the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, the explorers would get a view of the geological reserves of the block, while the policy governing the auction would follow in a few weeks,” The Hindu reported.
