据印度上游监管机构称，作为全球第三大石油消费国，印度将在其最新一轮勘探许可中提供 26 个石油和天然气区块以及 16 个煤层气区块，以提高当地产量。

“全球石油公司对印度的勘探和生产表现出前所未有的兴趣，”石油部长哈迪普·辛格·普里(Hardeep Singh Puri)在美国休斯敦路演后于10月11日发推文称。

印度也是世界第三大石油进口国，其约 84% 的石油需求来自海外，并希望迅速将其石油和天然气储备货币化，以削减进口费用。

根据上游监管机构碳氢化合物总局网站上发布的通知，这 26 个区块（15 个超深水区块、8 个浅水区块和 3 个陆上区块）面积达 223,000 平方公里（86,101 平方英里）。

迄今为止，全球主要能源公司在印度的石油和天然气许可轮次中反应不温不火。

在休斯敦，普里在启动海上石油和天然气勘探区域招标后会见了埃克森美孚、油田服务提供商贝克休斯和液化天然气生产商的高管。

普里在接受路透社采访时表示，印度对美国公司在炼油厂海上生产、乙醇和硫磺回收方面的技术专长感兴趣。

India is offering 26 oil and gas blocks and 16 coal bed methane blocks in its latest exploration licensing round, according to the country's upstream regulator, as the world's third largest oil consumer seeks to boost local output.

"There is an unprecedented interest in Indian exploration and production by global oil companies," oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted on Oct. 11 after a roadshow in Houston in the United States.

India, also the world's third biggest oil importer, ships in about 84% of its oil needs from overseas and wants to quickly monetize its oil and gas reserves to cut its import bill.

The 26 blocks - 15 ultra deepwater blocks, eight shallow water and three onland blocks - cover an area of 223,000 sq km (86,101 sq miles), according to a notice posted on the website of upstream regulator the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons.

India has so far seen a tepid response from major global energy players in its oil and gas licensing rounds.

In Houston, Puri met with executives from Exxon Mobil, oilfield service provider Baker Hughes and LNG producers after launching a bidding round for offshore oil and gas exploration areas.

India is interested in the U.S. companies' technical expertise in offshore production, ethanol and sulfur recovery in oil refineries, Puri told Reuters in an interview.