The Indian government on Tuesday confirmed it had received 69 bids from 26 international and 21 domestic companies for the 20 new blocks on offer and that it should have announced the successful bidders by July 31, with production sharing contracts signed by early October.

Indian Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said 18 bids had been received for the six deepwater blocks on offer; seven bids for two shallow water blocks; and 44 bids for 12 onshore blocks. A total of 26 foreign companies and 21 Indian companies submitted bids.

He said foreign bidders included the United Kingdom’s BP plc, Cairn Energy and Hardy Oil; Italy’s ENI, Canada's Niko Resources, Brazil's Petrobras and Malaysia's Petroliam Nasional Bhd.

Indian companies to have bid included Oil & Natural Gas Corporation, Reliance Industries Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Oil India, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation and Essar Oil.