Cairn seeks oil ministry help for expanding exploration in Rajasthan
15 Nov 2012
Cairn India, which is looking to increase oil production at its Rajasthan block, has sought the intervention of the ministry of petroleum and natural gas for further exploration in and around the current exploration area.
Chairman Anil Agarwal is reported to have written a letter to the new oil minister, M Veerappa Moily, seeking his intervention to increase production in Rajasthan through further exploration of the prolific block.
Cairn India is looking to increase oil production at its Rajasthan field to 30,000 barrels per day (bpd) against the current level of 175,000 bpd and had made an application to the petroleum ministry seeking permission to explore within the ring-fenced development area that contains 25 oil and gas finds.
''The production sharing contract (PSC) provisions permit exploration and government does not lose any revenue by permitting exploration,'' Agarwal wrote in a letter to petroleum minister Moily on 30 October, a day after he took over as petroleum minister.
''The approvals should be granted in a simple manner, without any delay,'' the letter said.
''It is unusual to continue only production without new exploration, as you are kindly aware production and exploration goes hand in hand. Each day lost can never be recovered,'' Agarwal wrote.
