The government plans to relax rules for oil and gas exploration licences in time for the next bidding round, to attract global companies.

“Before the next round (of exploration licensing) we would like to put in place a more investor-friendly regime, both for investment and from the point of view of pricing,” oil minister S Jaipal Reddy said. Companies have to get government approval for the formulae they use to work out selling prices for the oil and gas. India, the world’s fourth-biggest oil importer, wants to tap domestic supply to cut its ballooning import bill and widening budget deficit. So far, local companies have dominated auctions for Indian licences and the government wants to attract more foreign bidders.