Cairn seeks nod to export Rajasthan crude.

Cairn India believes its Rajasthan crude oil will get a better price in the international market and should be allowed to export.

'From our perspective, we strongly believe oil from the Rajasthan field will get higher price in the international market,' Tom Albanese, Chief Executive Officer, Vedanta Group, said.

At present, India does not allow export of domestically produced oil and gas as it is yet to attain self-sufficiency. 'We have approached the Government with a plan to swap (crude) in such a way that there is no impact on the local oil supply and demand,” he told BusinessLine.

Cairn's Rajasthan crude is sold at a 10-11 per cent discount of Brent, because of its quality, and the recent steep drop in crude oil prices has hit the company’s profitability. For the third quarter (October-December 2014) of the current fiscal, Cairn’s crude was sold at a discount of 10.9 per cent to the average Brent price of $76 a barrel.

For the current quarter from January till February 13, Brent price has seen a fall of almost $26 barrel, averaging at $50.42 a barrel.


HBL