BackCairn India makes 3 new discoveries in Rajasthan
Cairn India says the three discoveries are primarily of crude oil and takes its total number of discoveries to 36 in the onshore block
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Mumbai: Cairn India Ltd, the oil and gas arm of Anil Agarwal-controlled Vedanta Resources Plc, has made three new discoveries in the prolific Barmer basin in Rajasthan.
A note issued by the company to the stock exchanges on Wednesday said that the three discoveries are primarily of crude oil and takes its total number of discoveries to 36 in the onshore block.
These discoveries are a part of a three-year capex programme under which the company plans to spend ₹ 18,000 crore and increase its production at the block to 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) from the current 185,000 bpd.
The capex also includes building its gas production capabilities and developing a new field, Barmer Hill, in the onshore block, apart from the ongoing enhanced oil recovery programme from the asset.
Analysts have been critical of the company lately for failing to meet a target of over 200,000 bpd of production for full fiscal 2014 and have raised concerns that a target of 300,000 bpd could be difficult to achieve.
However, the company has been banking on the prospects of increased production from the field to seek an extension of its production-sharing contract to produce oil and gas from the Rajasthan block which expires in fiscal 2020.
State-owned explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd (ONGC) holds 30% share in the block.
In its note issued on Wednesday, Cairn India also announced a dividend of ₹ 5 per equity share entailing an outgo of ₹ 1,097 crore.
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