April 15 (Reuters) - India has launched an auction of three coal bed methane blocks and 55 small discovered fields for exploration and production, said Pallavi Jain Govil, head of upstream regulator Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, on Tuesday at an event in Delhi. Two of the coal bed methane blocks are in the state of West Bengal and one in the western state of Gujarat. India also signed contacts for oil and gas blocks, offered under a licensing round earlier this year, Govil said, as the world's third largest oil consumer seeks to boost its local output.

The country imports over 80% of its over 5 million barrels per day of oil needs. India's top explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC.NS), signed contracts for exploration of 11 blocks, while Oil India (OILI.NS), signed for six blocks. ONGC also signed an exploration contract for one block in tie up with BP (BP.L), opens new tab and Reliance Industries (RELI.NS), and teamed up with Oil India for three blocks. Vedanta (VDAN.NS), signed contracts for seven blocks and Hindustan Oil Exploration Company (HOEX.NS), for one block.