<article><p class="lead">India's Vedanta has invited offers from buyers to purchase 13,000 b/d of crude from its Ravva block in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin off India's east coast.</p><p>The company is offering 12 cargoes of 400,000 bl each for loading at the Ravva single-point mooring (SPM) offshore delivery facility in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, a request for proposal (RFP) document shows. The crude Vedanta has offered accounts for 2.2pc of India's 570,000 b/d production in the April 2021–March 2022 fiscal year.</p><p>Crude oil deliveries will begin from the April 2023-March 2024 fiscal year. The price for the crude sold will be benchmarked to Dated Brent prices, Vedanta said. Crude oil from the Ravva block could be delivered in a commingled form with oil from ONGC's eastern offshore asset in the KG basin and Nagayalanka crude, also part of KG basin.</p><p>This is the <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2414162">third consecutive competitive auction</a> that Vedanta is conducting for oil from older fields in India. The government in July 2022 liberalised regulations allowing old field owners freedom to sell their crude in the domestic market, but continued to ban exports. The government would previously decide the buyers of crude oil from older fields.</p><p>Competitive bidding for the crude cargoes will conclude on 20 February. Only domestic refiners are allowed to participate in the auction. </p><p>The Ravva block was awarded to a joint venture of Cairn India, ONGC, Videocon Industries and Ravva Oil (Singapore) in 1994. Cairn India merged with Vedanta in 2018.</p><p class="bylines">By Chiranjivi Chakraborty</p></article>
