Cairn to take up drilling in Ravva field from October

Cairn India Limited is planning to begin drilling activities in the Ravva field of Krishan-Godavari Basin from October. The company recently called expressions of interest from drilling rig suppliers.

Cairn India, the operator of the Ravva block, holds 22.5 per cent participating interest in the Ravva block. Its joint venture partners ONGC holds 40 per cent, Vidiocon 25 per cent and Ravva Oil (Singapore) 12.5 per cent stake.

“The 4D seismic study by Global Geophysical in the Ravva field will be complete by March. The study is showing encouraging results which is why we are planning to start drilling activities from October 2010,” sources from Cairn India told Business Standard. Initially, Cairn India will take up drilling in two wells.

The Ravva oil and gas block situated in the shallow offshore area on the eastern coast of India has completed 15 years of production. As of now, the field has already produced 223 million barrels of oil against the original estimate of 101 million barrels.

Cairn India reported a net profit of Rs 290.96 crore in October-December, 2009, compared with Rs 236.42 crore in the corresponding period previous year.