Cairn to seek ONGC nod on Vedanta deal

Cairn India would seek approval from its partner Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for the Vedanta deal after the results of postal ballot are known on September 14, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Rahul Dhir said today.

Cairn India has undertaken the ballot to seek shareholder approval for government conditions that have come with an approval to Cairn Energy’s sale of majority stake in the company to Vedanta Resources.

The conditions include allowing royalty and cess payments on crude production from the Barmer block to be recovered as costs.

Cairn India holds 70 per cent interest in the prolific Barmer block and ONGC the remaining 30 per cent.

Dhir said production from the Bhagyam field will begin in the last quarter of this year, subject to regulatory approvals.

"Once we get necessary approvals, production will start in the next quarter," he said, adding that "production can be ramped up to 40,000 bpd by the first quarter of next year".

Cairn produces 125,000 bpd of crude oil from the Mangala field in Rajasthan, which could be ramped up to 150,000 bpd. From Bhagyam, it hopes to produce 60,000 bpd. The company would start operation from the Aishwariya field, also in Rajasthan from next year.