Santos awarded two deepwater blocks off Kolkata coast

New Delhi, Mar 21 (UNI) Australian energy major Santos was today awarded two deepwater hydrocarbon blocks -- D-22 and D-23 off the Kolkata coast after India and Bangladesh resolved the dispute over the exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Dhaka had earlier claimed that the two blocks were in Bangladesh maritime areas.

It had said that part of the Indian EEZ overlaps with its EEZ and that the two blocks were within its territory. A country's EEZ extends to a distance of 200 nautical miles from its coast.

The blocks awarded to Santos under the sixth round of New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP VI) are about 250 km southwest of Kolkata and 175 km from the Indian coast. Water depth ranges between 400 to 2,000 metres.

UNI