India's Directorate General of Hydrocarbons has recommended to the Indian government the official award of block CY-ONN-2005/1 in the Cauvery Basin to Bengal and its partners.

The official award of the Block is expected shortly and the formal government signing ceremony is expected to take place by the end of November.

The Block is a 233,761 acre land block located in a Category 1 proven producing basin in southeast India. Bengal has a 30% interest in the Block and the operator of the Block, GAIL (India) Limited ("GAIL"), holds a 40% interest. Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation ("GSPC") holds the remaining 30% interest.

"The award of the Cauvery block in India is very important to Bengal because of its large potential resources, which are over four times all of Bengal's other resources combined, and also because of the strong local partners that we will work with in its exploration and development," said Bradley Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Bengal. "GAIL and GPSC have significant oil and gas interests in India and other countries including China, Egypt, Oman, Yemen and Australia. We believe we can add value for them not only in the Block but also in their other operations by applying our strong technical and operational experience and our access to Canadian practices and technologies."

Tags: Bengal Energy