Cairn mgmt to meet PetroMin officials this week

Senior management from Cairn Energy Plc is expected to visit India this week to meet government officials over the stake sale in its Indian subsidiary, Cairn India.

“Top company management will meet petroleum ministry officials this week on the stake sale,” said a source.

Cairn is selling 40 to 51 per cent stake in Cairn India, the operator of the nation’s largest onland oilfield, to London-listed Vedanta for $6.65 billion to $8.48 billion. However, the company’s application to the government seeking permission for the stake sale had left out three producing assets, including the prolific Rajasthan oilfields.

Cairn has maintained that it is not contractually bound to seek approval for sale of shareholding in the Indian unit in the Rajasthan block, the Cambay Basin gas field and the eastern offshore Ravva oil and gas fields.

The government, however, insists that Cairn will have to apply separately for all its 10 properties in the country, for which it has signed individual production sharing contract with the petroleum ministry.