The ministry of defence is believed to have suggested that companies from China, Pakistan, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh and the Arab world be kept out of the bidding for certain oil and gas blocks due to security concerns.

The suggestion to prohibit companies from certain countries to operate in the Andaman offshore area came during the inter-ministerial consultations to finalise oil and gas blocks to be offered under the fourth round of New Exploration Licensing Policy later this month, sources said.

The ministry also wanted Indian firms to lead the consortiums, bidding for blocks in Andaman offshore, as majority shareholders.

The petroleum ministry, sources said, was, however, opposed to the blanket ban and cited public sector ONGC Videsh Ltd taking 25 per cent stake in a producing oil field in Sudan where the partners were Chinese and Malaysian national oil companies.

Petronas of Malaysia and CNPC of China had waived off their first right of refusal to make way for OVL in the Greater Nile Oil Project.

The government is likely to offer some 25 oil and gas blocks, including a couple of them, in the Andaman offshore area, under NELP-IV.

The condition to bar certain countries would not only send wrong signals to the international community, but would also reduce the level of competition and exploration efficiency may suffer, the petroleum ministry is believed to have said in response to the defence ministry's contention.

Sources said the petroleum ministry was also not inclined to favour the defence ministry's suggestion of processing data in India as it was not financially and technologically possible.

The defence ministry has also suggested that exploratory surveys be carried out under the direct supervision of representatives of the ministry of petroleum and no oceanographic studies be conducted without the defence ministry's permission.

Further, all vessels deployed will need clearance from the ministry of defence and an application will have to made four months in advance. Besides, all foreign personnel on vessels will need security clearance from the ministry of defence and they will also have to be vetted by the ministry of home, they said.

Of the 25 blocks to be offered under NELP-IV, 14 are in deep sea, one in shallow waters and the remaining onland.

The deepwater blocks are in Krishna Godavari Basin, Mahanadi basin, Cauvery basin, Kerala-Konkan basin, Gujarat Saurashtra basin and Mumbai basins, while the shallow water block is in Cauvery-Palar basin.

Onland blocks are in Tripura, Manipur, Assam, Nagaland, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, West Bengal Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Rajasthan, they added.