Engineering graduate submits 17 bids for DSF
Some might feel intimidated by mysterious newcomer Akhil Teja Natural Resources which submitted bids for 17 contract areas under the Discovered Small Fields (DSF) round.
But have nothing to fear! This company is no hard-hitting heavyweight but a one-man show set up by the eponymous Akhil Teja, a Bangalore-based engineering graduate who is less than 30 years old. Teja's only oil and gas experience is that he worked with Bharat Petroleum for 18 months after completing an engineering degree from the National Institute of Technology in Surat in Gujarat in 2010.
"I saw an advertisement in the newspapers saying the DGH is holding a road-show in Bangalore," Teja tells this report. "I've always wanted to do something on my own and this was the perfect opportunity as there were no technical barriers.
It was now or never." Unknown to Teja perhaps is that 16 of his 17 bids are likely to be disqualified because he did not submit the mandatory Rs10 lakh ($16,600) bid bond. "I am interested in getting only one field - the Dipling cluster in Assam," adds Teja.
"It's a shot in the dark. Even if I get one field, it will be a blessing.
I only listed the other fields as a preference." When asked specifically about Teja, a DGH source would say only that all bids are being evaluated.