Indian private-sector resources firm Vedanta has offered 475,000 m³/d of natural gas from its Cambay (CB/OS-2) block in Gujarat's Surat district, deliveries of which are set begin from 30 June and continue till 31 March 2024.
The e-auction will be conducted by Cairn Oil and Gas, a subsidiary of Vedanta, on 13 June, with the delivery point set from Suvali onshore terminal in Hariza, which is connected to Gail's integrated HVJ pipeline which begins from Hariza and travels to Vijaypur in Madhya Pradesh to reach Jagdishpur in Uttar Pradesh. The capacity of the pipeline is 57.3mn m³/d, and it runs for 4,658.5km.
Gas auctioned from the block will also be connected to Gujarat State Petronet's low-pressure Gujarat grid that begins from Hazira and travels through Mora village to Utran town in Surat district of Gujarat. The pipeline has a capacity of 12mn m³/d for a stretch of 58km. The gas has been priced based on a formula linked to an Asian index.
The offering of 475,000 m³/d is roughly 0.5pc of India's natural gas output of 92.4mn m³/d during the April 2022-March 2023 fiscal year, oil ministry data show.
Vedanta had offered to sell 8,000 b/d from its Cambay block in Gujarat earlier in February.
The Cambay Block CB/OS-2 was awarded in 1998 under a production-sharing agreement (PSA) to a joint venture of Vedanta, state-controlled upstream firm ONGC and domestic private-sector firm Invenire Petrodyne. The PSA for the Barmer Block RJ-ON-90/1 in 1995 went to a joint venture of Vedanta, ONGC and Vedanta subsidiary Cairn Energy Hydrocarbon.
Vedanta and state-controlled ONGC each hold 40pc interest in the block, with 10pc held by Invenire Petrodyne.
Vedanta plans to invest $20bn in the next 4-5 years to expand existing capacity and to set up new capacity for oil and gas, renewable energy, display glass, semiconductor, mining and smelting operations.
