Cairn eyes Rs 5k cr from Rajasthan oilfield in '10

Oil exploration company Cairn India Ltd is expecting its oilfield at Barmer in Rajasthan to generate around $1 billion (Rs 5,000 crore) revenue in 2010.

Barmer is likely to commence production during the third quarter of the current fiscal and reach an output of 175,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) in 2010.

According to a company source, Cairn has made 25 discoveries of hydrocarbon in Rajasthan and invested around $2 billion (around Rs 10,000 crore) so far.

India currently imports 2 million bopd while the domestic production is around 650,000 bopd.

Cairn India expects to generate around $2 billion (around Rs 10,000 crore) revenues every year starting 2011, said the official.

“The government has nominated Indian Oil Corporation and Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd, a unit of explorer Oil & Natural Gas Corporation, for purchasing the company’s crude oil,” the source said.

The company has also discovered oil reserves of 3.7 billion barrels, of which two billion barrels are in the three main fields known as Mangala, Bhagyam and Aishwarya in Rajasthan.

It is also planning to carry out fresh studies at the Ravva oil and gas field in Andhra Pradesh.

Cairn has a 22.5 per cent participating interest in the Ravva field, while ONGC and Videocon have 40 and 25 per cent respectively. Marubeni-owned Ravva Oil (Singapore) owns a further 12.5 per cent stake in the project.