Cairn Energy PLC in India
Cairn Energy began investing in India in the 1990s when it became one of the first international companies to participate in the country’s oil and gas industry.
Cairn’s investment in India saw the company transform the Ravva oil and gas field along India’s eastern coast, which was producing just c.3,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) when Cairn took over operatorship in the mid-1990s. Within 18 months, Cairn increased production to 50,000 bopd. Ravva is still in production more than two decades later, having produced more than 365 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe).
Cairn subsequently transformed India’s oil and gas industry with the discovery of the Mangala oil field in Rajasthan in January 2004. It was one of the biggest ever hydrocarbon discoveries in India and was quickly followed by the additional Bhagyam and Aishwarya oil discoveries nearby. Today, Mangala, Bhagyam and Aishwarya fields together have gross reserves of ~ 2.2 billion boe.
Cairn ultimately made more than forty discoveries in the area and, together with its partners, the company invested ~ INR 45000 Crore (US$6 billion) in projects that have benefitted India, its oil and gas industry and local communities. One such project was the construction of the world’s longest heated pipeline (c.600km) to take crude from the Mangala Processing Terminal to India’s western coast. A decade later, the terminal still provides more than a third of India’s entire crude oil production.
The fields have had a significant economic impact on the local economy. As well as directly creating thousands of skilled jobs, they have stimulated growth in other sectors such as agriculture, textiles and tourism, meaning that the Barmer district of Rajasthan (home to Mangala, Bhagyam and Aishwarya fields) now boasts an average income 40% higher than the national average and is the second largest contributor to Rajasthan’s GDP. In the last decade, Cairn’s discoveries have generated revenues of more than INR 150000 Crore (US$20 billion) for the state and national government.
During its 20-year investment in India, Cairn has been a model corporate citizen and created a legacy Indian energy asset which is seen as an example of what can be achieved through partnerships and foreign direct investment in India.
Investment Legacy in Rajasthan
August 2019 marked the 10th anniversary of first oil from Mangala Oil Field in Rajasthan, the largest onshore discovery in India for more than 25 years. From a barren desert landscape, Cairn discovered more than one billion barrels of oil which continues to generate significant revenues for the country with more than US$20 billion to the Indian Government to date. Together with its joint venture partners Cairn invested ~US$6bn in projects that have benefitted the nation and local communities:
– Rainwater harvesting, capacity to store more than 10 million litres of drinking water
– Mobile health van, serving over 8,500 people in remote local communities
– Enterprise Centre, training more than 3,000 people, supporting development of local businesses
– Rural dairy development, over 900 dairy farmers registered in different co-operatives
