Under its latest bidding round, the Government approved the award of 52 permits to various domestic and overseas companies, with 25 of those going to state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC).

According to Reuters, the Government said the bidding had attracted interest from 36 foreign firms, the largest ever overseas response to one of its auctions.

Early last year, Santos said it was looking closely at oil and gas projects in the Indian subcontinent. It signed a memorandum of understanding with Indian major Reliance Petroleum and at the time was reported to be keen to invest in exploration projects in Bangladesh.

The MOU with Reliance outlines a future cooperation agreement between the two companies to promote and exploit resources in an agreed area of interest, which includes South Asia and South-East Asia.