Decision on Cairn deal by Dec-end: Oil Secy

The government will decide by December end on giving approval to Cairn Energy Plc's proposal to sell a controlling stake in its Indian unit to London- listed Vedanta Resources, Oil Secretary S Sundareshan said today.

"We are completely neutral to Cairn-Vedanta deal. The government has no particular views on merits of the deal," he told reporters here.

The $9.6 billion deal is contingent upon government nod as the deal involves change of ownership of strategic assets like the giant Rajasthan oilfields.

"The (Petroleum) Minister (Murli Deora) has said this before and I will say it again that we will decide (on giving approval) by the year end," Sundareshan said.

UK's Cairn Energy on August 16 announced sale of up to 51 per cent stake in Cairn India to Vedanta Resources but made formal applications for government nod only about a month later. Cairn Energy holds 62.38 per cent stake in its Indian unit.

"There is no delay on our part. Cairn applied for government approval only a few weeks back. The application is being examined by Petroleum Ministry and (oil regulator) Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH)," he said.

Companies investing in India had a right to exit and that "right is well recognised," he said.

Sundareshan said the government will ascertain technical and financial capability of the new owner before giving nod.

Only companies technically capable of carrying out complex oil and gas exploration and production are awarded blocks and Cairn Energy too was judged on this parameter when in 2002 it bought out Royal Dutch Shell in the Rajasthan block, which is at the centre of its deal with Vedanta.

"We will examine (the Cairn application) absolutely on merit and come to a decision," Sundareshan said.

He dismissed Cairn Energy Chief Executive Bill Gammell's comments earlier this week that delays in government approval will hit India's image as an investment destination, particularly when it's launching the 9th round of bidding for exploration acreage under the New Exploration Licensing Policy.

"These apprehensions are absolutely unfounded," he said, adding that the delay in seeking approval was on Cairn's part.

It was "Petroleum Ministry which informed Cairn Energy that they require permission of the government to undertake this deal," he said. Cairn Energy took its time in making the application and things would have been different had it done so when Vedanta made applications to Sebi on August 17 for on open offer for additional 20 per cent.

Gammell had stated that it was important that the government's approval doesn't take too long as it may affect global investors, who are watching the deal's progress. "Concerns about delays do not help the Indian case," he had said.

Oil Ministry maintains that under production sharing contracts, any changes in ownership of the blocks require government consent, a view that has now been upheld by the Law Ministry and the Solicitor General of India.

Claims of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp, Cairn India's partner in several of its 10 properties in the country including the Rajasthan block, having pre-emptive rights have also been upheld by SGI.

Cairn India holds stakes in 10 oil and gas blocks in India. Its key asset is the RJ-ON-90/1 oil block in Barmer in Rajasthan which currently produces 125,000 barrels of crude oil per day and has potential to go up to 240,000 bpd or 12 million tons a year.

The company owns has a 70 per cent stake in the block and ONGC holds the rest.

Sundareshan said his ministry has so far not sought any more documents from Cairn and is acting on the applications that were submitted last month.