Bergen, Norway, July 7 — In a significant push towards enhancing India’s energy security and deepwater exploration capabilities, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, announced India’s plans to offer over 250,000 square kilometres for exploration under the 10th round of the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP). The announcement was made during a roundtable held with representatives of Norway’s Offshore Energy Cluster in Bergen.
The upcoming OALP Round 10 is expected to be among the world’s largest offshore hydrocarbon exploration bidding rounds, and aligns with India’s broader strategy to build a robust deepwater Exploration and Production (E&P) technology ecosystem. The initiative is being spearheaded under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, with a focus on accelerating offshore energy development through international collaboration.
During the roundtable, Shri Puri engaged in comprehensive discussions with leading Norwegian energy technology firms. The dialogue covered a wide array of upstream oil and gas technologies including subsea operations, well services, high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) drilling, well completion services, submersible rigs, drillships, and advanced monitoring and maintenance systems essential for deep-sea hydrocarbon exploration.
Key participants in the roundtable included representatives from TechnipFMC, Reach Subsea, DNV Group, Odfjell Drilling, CCB Subsea, Shearwater, Innovasjon Norge, Norwegian Energy Partners, and Equinor India. The Norwegian delegation was joined by HE Jostein Dahl Karlsen, representing Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Energy.
The meeting underscored India’s commitment to leveraging global expertise in offshore and subsea energy technologies, aiming to foster strategic partnerships and technological exchange with Norwegian energy professionals. Representatives from TechnipFMC, Reach Subsea, DNV_Group, Odfjell Drilling, CCB Subsea, Shearwater, InnovasjonNorge, NORWEP along with representative from Equinor India, participated in the meeting in the presence of HE Jostein Dahl Karlsen, who represented Norway MFA & Norwegian Ministry of Energy.
