“India has once again kicked the can down the road on its biggest oil and gas licensing round, extending the deadline for bids under OALP-X to February 18 [2026]. It is the fourth extension since the round was launched with much fanfare during India Energy Week in February [2025], and it says a lot about the gap between ambition and investor appetite.”
“OALP-X is not a small offering quietly tucked away in some dark corner of the upstream segment. It is the largest acreage round India has ever put on the table under its Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy, covering nearly 192,000 square kilometers across 13 sedimentary basins. The mix is heavily offshore: ultra-deepwater, deepwater, shallow water, and a smaller slice of onshore acreage. In August [2025], New Delhi had already pushed the deadline to October, citing the need to give bidders more time. Then came another extension to December. Now it is February [2026].”