Cairn India reports three new oil finds in Rajasthan block
17 Sep 2014
Cairn India Ltd today announced three new oil discoveries, including one having significant potential, in its exploration block in Rajasthan, which takes its total oil discoveries in the block to 36.
One of the wells, DP-1, is in close proximity to the company's Mangala field and it is planning fast track appraisal to commercialise the discovery, Cairn India said, adding, the DP structure is located 6 km NW of Mangala field and has an aerial extent of 21 sq km.
Cairn India, now part of London-listed Vedanta Resources Plc, said the exploration well DP-1 has encountered 70m gross oil bearing interval in the Barmer Hill formation. The well has been fracced and tested, flowing oil at the rate of 120 bopd.
Another exploration well, Saraswati SW-1, has been tested in a Mesozoic sand interval and flowed oil at the rate of 248 bopd, Cairn India said.
A third well, Aishwariya-46, in Dharvi Dungar formation, flowed oil at the rate of 182 bopd, making it the 36th discovery in RJ-ON-90/1, Cairn India said, adding, it was the first Dharvi Dungar oil discovery in the northern part of Barmer basin
The board of directors at its meeting today declared interim cash dividend of Rs5 per equity share of Rs10 face value. The dividend is proposed to be paid on or before 13 October 2014 to shareholders on record on 23 September 2014. This will entail an outflow of Rs1,097 crore, including the dividend distribution tax of Rs159 crore.
''The objective of our dividend policy is to continuously enhance value to our shareholders. In line with this policy, we are delighted to announce an interim dividend of Rs5 per share,'' Sudhir Mathur, interim CEO, Cairn India, said.
The company is spending $3 billion over three years to boost oil production and natural gas output from its Rajasthan block, which had an output of 66.3 million barrels of oil equivalent in the year ended March 31.
Cairn India has a portfolio of nine blocks, one in Rajasthan which contains multiple assets, two on the west coast and four on the east coast of India, and one each in Sri Lanka and South Africa.