In London for the NELP-V roadshow, Aiyar said he was “pleasantly startled” by the interest shown in India’s oil and gas blocks and the readiness by firms such as Shell, BP and British Gas to form JVs with India’s Oil & Natural Gas Corp.

Aiyar said the increased interest to factors such as Reliance Industries’ recent discovery in the Krishna Godavari basin and Cairn’s success in blocks.

British Gas, BP Exploration, Burren Energy, Cairn Energy, ENI, Hardy Oil & Gas, Hunt Oil, Total Elf, Tullow and Premier were all there at the London road show.