Antelopus Selan Energy Wins Two Onshore Oil and Gas Blocks in KG and Cambay Basins

Indian upstream oil and gas producer Antelopus Selan Energy Limited has secured government approval for the award of two onshore hydrocarbon contract areas under the Discovered Small Field (DSF) Bid Round-IV, expanding the company’s presence in two of India’s established petroleum-producing regions.

The two contract areas are located in the Krishna-Godavari Basin in Andhra Pradesh and the Cambay Basin in Gujarat. The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH), operating under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, communicated the award to the company through a letter dated August 31, 2026, according to Antelopus Selan Energy’s September 1 stock-exchange disclosure.

Two Discovered Hydrocarbon Areas Added to Portfolio

The first block awarded to Antelopus Selan is KG/ONDSF/KG ONLAND/2025, located in the onshore Krishna-Godavari–Pranhita Godavari basin. DGH’s official DSF-IV information shows that this contract area covers approximately 300.58 square kilometres and incorporates seven previously identified discoveries: Vanadurru South, Bantumilli South-1, Chintalapalli-1, Medapadu-1, Bantumilli-2, Thanelanka-1 and Yedurulanka-1.

The second area, CB/ONDSF/CAMBAY ONLAND/2025, is located in Gujarat’s prolific Cambay Basin. It covers approximately 110.48 square kilometres and contains four identified discoveries: Pasunia-1, Pasunia-2, Ognaj-1 and Uber-2.

Unlike greenfield exploration acreage where operators begin without a confirmed discovery, India’s Discovered Small Field programme is intended to bring previously discovered hydrocarbon resources into commercial production. Companies can therefore focus on appraisal, development planning, infrastructure and monetisation of resources that have already demonstrated hydrocarbon potential.

Revenue Sharing Contracts Still Have to Be Signed

The government approval represents an important step, but the award process has not yet been fully completed. Antelopus Selan has clarified that each award remains subject to execution of a Revenue Sharing Contract, or RSC, between the President of India and the company.

The work programme offered during bidding, commercial terms, geographical area, maps and coordinates will subsequently be incorporated into the respective contracts. The company has said that more detailed information concerning the two assets will be disclosed after the RSCs are executed.

This distinction is important. The government has approved the award of the acreage to Antelopus Selan, but development expenditure, production schedules and potential hydrocarbon volumes cannot yet be reliably determined from the information released publicly.

Strengthening Antelopus Selan’s Presence in Andhra Pradesh

The new Krishna-Godavari block is particularly significant because Antelopus Selan already has experience operating in the basin.

The company operates the Dangeru and Mukkamala Contract Area in the onshore KG Basin under DSF Round-III. That existing asset covers approximately 144.26 square kilometres, with Antelopus holding a 100% participating interest. Its Revenue Sharing Contract was signed in September 2022.

The addition of the new 300.58-square-kilometre DSF-IV acreage could therefore substantially expand the company’s onshore footprint in Andhra Pradesh while allowing it to build on its existing geological and operating knowledge of the basin.

The Krishna-Godavari Basin is one of India’s most important hydrocarbon provinces, encompassing substantial oil and natural-gas resources both onshore and offshore. DGH’s DSF-IV programme specifically bundled seven discoveries into the new onshore contract area now approved for Antelopus Selan.

Cambay Award Builds on Company’s Gujarat Base

The Cambay award is similarly aligned with Antelopus Selan’s established operating base. The company already operates several producing assets in Gujarat’s Cambay Basin, including the Bakrol, Lohar and Karjisan fields, and is also operator of the larger Cambay field with a 50% participating interest.

Bakrol, located southeast of Ahmedabad, has been operated by the company since the 1990s and remains one of its flagship producing assets. Karjisan and Lohar are also producing Cambay Basin fields, giving Antelopus Selan considerable experience with the region’s subsurface geology, drilling requirements and production infrastructure.

The newly awarded DSF-IV Cambay area could consequently provide strategic advantages if development proceeds, particularly where existing technical capabilities and regional infrastructure can be leveraged.

Part of a Broader Expansion Strategy

Antelopus Selan Energy, formerly known as Selan Exploration Technology Limited, has been expanding from its traditional Gujarat-focused portfolio into a more geographically diversified Indian upstream company.

According to the company’s corporate information, its existing portfolio spans nine oil and gas contract areas across the Cambay Basin, Mumbai Offshore, Mahanadi Offshore, Assam and the Krishna-Godavari Basin.

The two DSF-IV awards fit naturally into this strategy. Rather than taking the company into completely unfamiliar geological provinces, they deepen its exposure to two basins where it already has operational experience.

India’s Discovered Small Field Programme

The DSF programme was created to encourage faster development of discovered oil and gas resources that had remained undeveloped or commercially marginal under earlier operating arrangements. The government packages identified discoveries into contract areas and offers them through competitive bidding to companies capable of developing and monetising them.

Under DSF Bid Round-IV, DGH offered a mixture of onshore, shallow-water and deep-water contract areas across several sedimentary basins. The Krishna-Godavari and Cambay areas awarded to Antelopus Selan were among the onshore opportunities offered in the round.

For India, accelerating production from such discoveries forms part of the broader effort to increase domestic hydrocarbon output and reduce the country’s substantial dependence on imported crude oil and natural gas.

The Next Milestone

The immediate milestone will be the signing of the two Revenue Sharing Contracts. Once those agreements are executed, Antelopus Selan is expected to provide greater clarity on the individual discoveries, committed work programmes, investment requirements and its plans for appraisal and eventual commercial production.

The significance of the September award therefore lies not simply in adding two licences. The company is gaining access to eleven identified discoveries spread across two established hydrocarbon basins, while increasing acreage in regions where it already possesses operating experience.

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