The Oilmax-Eleven consortium has emerged as the winning bidder for the Kutch offshore oil and gas block under the Government of India’s latest Discovered Small Fields (DSF) bidding round, according to a release issued on Monday.
The consortium secured the highest bid score in a competitive process, following which the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH), under the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, formally communicated the award through a Letter of Award (LOA).
Under the joint venture structure, Oilmax Energy Private Ltd and Eleven, via SAS Infotech, will each hold an equal 50 per cent participating interest in the offshore block. The win marks Eleven’s entry into India’s upstream energy space while bolstering Oilmax’s exploration and production portfolio nationwide.
Eleven, formerly known as SAS Group, was founded by Medanta co-founder Sunil Sachdeva and operates across healthcare, financial services, consumer technology, energy, and investments.
The award comes against the backdrop of strategic energy security priorities for India, the world’s third-largest energy consumer, which currently imports nearly 90 per cent of its crude oil requirements and around half of its natural gas demand to meet expanding consumption.
Emphasising the need to scale local output, Kapil Garg, Founder and Managing Director, Oilmax Energy, said “India’s energy demand will only rise as the economy continues to grow, and reliable, affordable energy is fundamental to sustaining that growth.”
“Developing our domestic oil and gas resources is essential to reducing import dependence, improving energy security and creating long-term value for the country. We look forward to bringing our technical expertise and experience to this asset,” Garg said.
Sunil Sachdeva, Co-founder, Medanta, and Chairman, Eleven, stated, “For India, energy security is no longer just an economic issue; it is a strategic one. The events of the last few years have shown how quickly global energy markets can be disrupted, which makes increasing domestic production critical.”
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