Cairn India in talks with govt to sort out oilfield issues

Cairn India Ltd today said it is in discussions with the petroleum ministry to resolve all outstanding issues that are critical for operations at its properties like the giant Rajasthan oilfields.

"We have full faith in the government approval procedure and are confident of moving forward in an amicable manner to enhance our contribution to our country's energy needs," Cairn India spokesperson said today.

Cairn had on January 21, written to the oil ministry complaining about "delays in getting timely approvals on (routine) matters have an adverse effect on the exploration, development and production schedules."

"We are in discussion with Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to resolve all outstanding issues," the Cairn spokesperson said.

Cairn in its January 21 letter, had listed out half a dozen pending issues like finalisation of the point for which sale of crude from Rajasthan block can be made to private refiners, the sale of Rajasthan crude to Reliance's only-for -export refinery and allocation of crude oil produced from its fields for 2011-12.

Furthermore, resolutions approved by the Management Committee (MC), which comprises representatives from the oil ministry, sectoral regulator Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) and the oil company, have not been signed by the oil ministry for the Rajasthan oil block and eastern offshore Ravva oil and gas field for over three months.

For the Rajasthan block, "MC meeting has not been held in the last six months, due to which decisions on several critical issues are pending," Cairn had written.

"Cairn India has a successful working relationship with Government of India, which is evident from our 15-year-old presence in the Indian hydrocarbon sector," the company spokesperson said today.