The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) of the
Government of India, has announced on May 25, 2016, the launch of
the 'Discovered Small Fields Bid Round, 2016' (the DSF Bid
Round) in New Delhi. The DSF Bid Round offers 46 contract areas
consisting of 67 different small oil and natural gas fields, for
exploration and production, in order to increase domestic
production of oil and natural gas in the country.
The DSF Bid Round has been launched under the Hydrocarbon
Exploration Licensing Policy (HELP) of the MoPNG, providing for a
single license for extraction of conventional and non –
conventional hydrocarbons, shifting the contractual framework from
the erstwhile Production Sharing Contract (PSC) model to the
Revenue Sharing Contract (RSC) model and providing marketing and
pricing freedom to developers. The DSF Bid Round also exempts
imposition of payment of customs duty and oil cess and permits
conduct of exploration activities during the entire contract
