The competition has been fierce, with 54 bids received for the 10 blocks, according to Indian media reports.
CBM-III has attracted bids from 18 Indian firms and eight foreign companies, according to Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dinsha Patel.
The CBM-III round attracted more bids than the earlier two rounds combined, Patel said.
GAIL is one of the giants in Indian energy but it has no expertise in CSM and the company failed to win blocks in India’s last licensing round for CSM. In India, CSM is known as coal bed methane (CBM).
“GAIL lost out due to a lack of technical expertise,” Arrow managing director Nick Davies told EnergyReview.net.
“They are looking for a partner who can tick that box. We can provide that expertise and train GAIL employees.”
Blocks from the CBM-III round will be awarded in September.
India is the world’s third-largest coal producer.
