Oilmin to discuss govt nod with Cairn, Vedanta officials

More than six months after Cairn Plc clinched a $9-billion deal with Vedanta to sell its stake in Cairn India, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas would hold a meeting with senior executives of both the companies on Sunday on the issue of government clearance. The ministry, under Murli Deora, had asserted its power to clear the deal, forcing Cairn to seek a government clearance under the production-sharing contracts signed for various blocks.

While Carin would be represented by Cairn Chairman Bill Gammell and Managing Director Rahul Dhir, Vedanta CFO Tarun Jain and Chief Executive Officer MS Mehta would represent Vedanta. The meeting would be chaired by Petroleum Secretary S Sunderashan. The ministry is planning to lay down more than a dozen conditions for the approval.

Government approval is crucial, since market regulator Sebi did not clear the mandatory open offer for the Bombay Stock Exchange-listed Cairn India.