- The union government has launched the third round of oilfield auctions under the Open acreage Licensing Programme (OALP)
- OALP is a part of Hydrocarbons Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP). It aims at enabling faster survey and assessment of areas with oil and gas potential. Under the programme, exploration companies can select their operation blocks without waiting for the formal bid round from the Government.
- HELP is a contractual and fiscal model for award of hydrocarbon acreages towards exploration and production. It brings all hydrocarbons such as oil, gas, coal bed methane etc. under a single licensing framework.
