“We have an existing pact with Santos, and now we have bids for two to three blocks in Australia, along with the Australian company,” India’s Business Standard newspaper quoted Reliance chief executive PMS Prasad as saying.
The locations or names of the blocks were not identified in the story.
Prasad also told the newspaper that Reliance was only interested in new exploration acreage, and not interested in taking stakes in producing or discovered oil and gas fields.
“We are staying away from producing and discovered blocks, as the returns do not justify prices.”
In February, the Indian Government was reported to have granted Santos two deepwater exploration blocks.
This follows an earlier announcement by the company that had signed a memorandum of understanding with Reliance, outlining future plans to promote and exploit resources in an agreed area of interest, including South Asia and South-East Asia.
India has previously been touted as an area of interest by Santos, which has since been reported to have been keen to invest in exploration projects in Bangladesh.
