Cairn writes to govt seeking nod for Vedanta deal

More than three weeks after it announced the sale of a majority stake in its Indian arm to Vedanta Resources, UK's Cairn Energy Plc has formally applied to the government for approvals, saying it will meet all contractual requirements for the deal.

Meanwhile, the Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) announced that it has sent a reminder to Cairn Energy on 10 September regarding the proposed sale of shares of Cairn India.

According to a report, the company on 9 September wrote separate letters to the ministry of petroleum and natural gas for specific approvals in respect of seven exploration blocks Cairn India had won under the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) rounds and concurrence in case of three producing properties that were awarded to it prior to NELP, including the giant Rajasthan oilfield.

"We have received letters from Cairn and we are examining them. We will decide (on it) in due course," a senior ministry official reportedly told The Economic Times.

Attaching a summary of the deal where Cairn Energy is selling a 40 to 51 per cent stake in its Indian arm to Vedanta Resources Group for up to $8.48 billion, company chief executive Bill Gammell, in the covering letter, stated that the proposed transaction was a sale of shares in Cairn India and "there will be no change in the parties holding the participating interests under the production sharing contracts."

Cairn maintained that only NELP blocks required prior government consent for transfer of control, while pre-NELP areas like the Rajasthan oilfield do not have such provisions.