Shell, Cairns Energy In Race For Enrons Panna Pie

Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell and Cairns Energy are understood to have joined the bidding process to acquire Enron's 30 per cent stake in Panna-Mukta and Tapti oil and gas fields.

Enron recently decided to exit from its oil & gas interests in India, and has initiated a bidding process to sell its holding in the unincorporated joint venture.

An Enron spokesperson declined to comment on the issue stating the bidding was not complete.

While ONGC holds 40 per cent stake, Reliance Industries holds the balance 30 per cent in the venture.

Both Reliance and ONGC have evinced interest in buying out Enron's stake.

Enron was not only the equity partner, but also the operator in the fields.

Cairns' bid for Enron's stake is also being seen as crucial, as the Australian company has the reputation of being one of the leading operators in the sector.

Sources close to Shell said that Shell would bid by itself and could later bring in Cairns for participating interest. This is because, Shell and Cairns Energy have a strategic alliance for oil exploration in the south-east Asia.

The production work at Shell's oil field in Rajasthan is being handled by Cairns.

Around Rs 3,400 crore has been invested in the venture so far with Enron's total investment around Rs 1,000 crore.

The venture was looking at increasing crude oil production to 30,000 barrels a day and gas production from 2.5 million cubic metres a day to three million cubic metres a day.