Cairn Oil & Gas shortlisted Lloyd’s Register for the integrated project management of the 41 blocks it won during the first round of bids under the Open Acreage License Policy (OALP).
This will enable speedy exploration management across the 41 blocks simultaneously with an end-to-end plan under stipulated timeliness. Cairn had also applied for Petroleum Exploration Licenses (PEL) in these blocks early on, and the process of obtaining environmental clearances is ongoing in parallel.
“The company has received PELs for 11 blocks so far and the rest are in progress,” a company statement said.
Commenting on the announcement, Ajay Kumar Dixit, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Cairn Oil & Gas said, “We are planning for a success case scenario and looking ahead for how production management can be adopted at the very nascent stage prior to initiating the exploration activities. This approach, while capital-intensive, is the best way forward to fast-track production and deliver on our vision to contribute to India’s energy security.”
Cairn was awarded 41 of 55 blocks under the first round of bids conducted through the OALP. The contracts for these blocks were signed in October 2018.
The company plans investments of more than $550 million in OALP and Discovered Small fields, and to increase its contribution from approximately 25 per cent to 50 per cent of India’s domestic production. Cairn Oil & Gas currently produces close to 190 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) of crude oil and aims to increase production to 270 thousand boepd by the end of this year.