Cairn Energy
Encyclopedia
Cairn Energy plc is a global oil
and gas
exploration company headquartered in Edinburgh
, United Kingdom. It has operational interests in Albania, Bangladesh, Greenland
, India, Nepal and Tunisia and produces around 33,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Its largest activities are in India, where it has made more than 20 discoveries in Rajasthan
, including a major oil discovery in Mangala. As at 30 June 2010 it had total proven commercial reserves of 247.4 Moilbbl of oil equivalent.
Its primary listing is on the London Stock Exchange
and it is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
. It has a secondary listing on the Bombay Stock Exchange
.
, the former international Rugby
player, who remains its CEO, his father James (Jimmy), his brother Pete and others. Its initial operations were in the USA and, following its listing on the London Stock Exchange
in 1988, it expanded into the UK North Sea and internationally (Papua New Guinea, Spain, Vietnam, China and Australia). Cairn acquired Conoco's UK onshore acreage in 1988 and became one of the largest operators of UK onshore oil production with the Palmers Wood oil field just south of London, near Junction 6 of the M25
, Humbly Grove (near Basingstoke
) and others.
Cairn's expansion started with a substantial (non-operated) gas discovery (East Cameron 331) in the Gulf of Mexico in 1993 followed by another large gas discovery at Sangu, offshore Bangladesh near Chittagong
, in 1996. In parallel, Cairn launched a series of takeovers of public listed companies – Teredo Petroleum in 1994, Holland Sea Search NV in 1995 and Command Petroleum in 1996.
In 1996, Cairn farmed out a 25% interest in the Sangu field to Halliburton
in return for Halliburton bearing a 50% share of the development costs. In 1997, it sold half of all its Bangladeshi interests to Royal Dutch Shell
in return for Shell assuming a $330 million carry of Cairn's exploration and development costs. This agreement gave Cairn an interest in Shell's huge acreage position in Rajasthan
onshore in North West India. Cairn drilled two unsuccessful exploration wells and Shell then sold its 50% share to Cairn for $7.5 million: Cairn's third well, now 100% owned, found the Mangala oil field.
In August 2010 it was reported that Cairn will sell 40%–51% of shares in its subsidiary Cairn India to India-focused mining company Vedanta Resources
for about $8.5–9.6 billion.
and Tunisia in both exploration and production. Its average daily production in 2006 was 25,000 BOE/d.
in Rajasthan which is thought to contain up to 1 Goilbbl of recoverable reserves and came onstream 29 August 2009 with a projected plateau production rate of 175000 oilbbl/d.
Cairn still maintains production operations in the Sangu Gas Field offshore Bangladesh as well as exploration acreage in Northern India, Nepal and Southern Bangladesh. In August 2009, Cairns started oil production in Rajasthan
, India. This oil production is expected to meet about 6% of India's oil demands over the next few years and will represent about 20% of current oil production capacity.
In September 2010, Vedanta Resources said that it was interested to buy a controlling stake of Cairn India. Union petroleum secretary S Sundareshan said that if Vedanta meets all the requirements for the deal there won't be any issue..“If the no-objection certificate is received from these 10 PSCs, the deal can get the green signal, he added. We have written to Cairn stating that they should seek these approvals." Vedanta Resources plans to acquire 51 percent to 60 percent stake in Cairn India for about US$9.6 billion.
West licensing round offshore West Greenland. All together, it has six exploration licences, including Sigguk
, Eqqua, Kingittoq and Saqqamuit blocks as an operator, and Atammik and Lady Franklin blocks as a minority partner in partnership with Encana Corporation.
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
and gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
exploration company headquartered in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, United Kingdom. It has operational interests in Albania, Bangladesh, Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, India, Nepal and Tunisia and produces around 33,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Its largest activities are in India, where it has made more than 20 discoveries in Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, including a major oil discovery in Mangala. As at 30 June 2010 it had total proven commercial reserves of 247.4 Moilbbl of oil equivalent.
Its primary listing is on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
and it is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
FTSE 100 Index
The FTSE 100 Index, also called FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the footsie , is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalised UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange....
. It has a secondary listing on the Bombay Stock Exchange
Bombay Stock Exchange
The Bombay Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located on Dalal Street, Mumbai and is the oldest stock exchange in Asia. The equity market capitalization of the companies listed on the BSE was 1.63 trillion as of December 2010, making it the 4th largest stock exchange in Asia and the 8th largest...
.
History
The company was founded in 1981 by Sir Bill GammellBill Gammell
Sir William Benjamin Bowring Gammell, commonly known as Bill Gammell is a Scottish sportsman and industrialist.-Early life:Bill Gammell was born in Edinburgh...
, the former international Rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player, who remains its CEO, his father James (Jimmy), his brother Pete and others. Its initial operations were in the USA and, following its listing on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
in 1988, it expanded into the UK North Sea and internationally (Papua New Guinea, Spain, Vietnam, China and Australia). Cairn acquired Conoco's UK onshore acreage in 1988 and became one of the largest operators of UK onshore oil production with the Palmers Wood oil field just south of London, near Junction 6 of the M25
M25 motorway
The M25 motorway, or London Orbital, is a orbital motorway that almost encircles Greater London, England, in the United Kingdom. The motorway was first mooted early in the 20th century. A few sections, based on the now abandoned London Ringways plan, were constructed in the early 1970s and it ...
, Humbly Grove (near Basingstoke
Basingstoke
Basingstoke is a town in northeast Hampshire, in south central England. It lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon. It is southwest of London, northeast of Southampton, southwest of Reading and northeast of the county town, Winchester. In 2008 it had an estimated population of...
) and others.
Cairn's expansion started with a substantial (non-operated) gas discovery (East Cameron 331) in the Gulf of Mexico in 1993 followed by another large gas discovery at Sangu, offshore Bangladesh near Chittagong
Chittagong
Chittagong ) is a city in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 4.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.A trading...
, in 1996. In parallel, Cairn launched a series of takeovers of public listed companies – Teredo Petroleum in 1994, Holland Sea Search NV in 1995 and Command Petroleum in 1996.
In 1996, Cairn farmed out a 25% interest in the Sangu field to Halliburton
Halliburton
Halliburton is the world's second largest oilfield services corporation with operations in more than 70 countries. It has hundreds of subsidiaries, affiliates, branches, brands and divisions worldwide and employs over 50,000 people....
in return for Halliburton bearing a 50% share of the development costs. In 1997, it sold half of all its Bangladeshi interests to Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
in return for Shell assuming a $330 million carry of Cairn's exploration and development costs. This agreement gave Cairn an interest in Shell's huge acreage position in Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
onshore in North West India. Cairn drilled two unsuccessful exploration wells and Shell then sold its 50% share to Cairn for $7.5 million: Cairn's third well, now 100% owned, found the Mangala oil field.
In August 2010 it was reported that Cairn will sell 40%–51% of shares in its subsidiary Cairn India to India-focused mining company Vedanta Resources
Vedanta Resources
Vedanta Resources plc is a global mining and metals company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest mining and non-ferrous metals company in India and also has mining operations in Australia and Zambia. Its main products are copper, zinc, aluminium, lead and iron ore...
for about $8.5–9.6 billion.
Operations
Cairn Energy operates in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, GreenlandGreenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
and Tunisia in both exploration and production. Its average daily production in 2006 was 25,000 BOE/d.
Cairn India
In 2006 Cairn spun off its production interests in Western and Eastern India into a separate company called Cairn India Limited. Cairn Energy maintains a 69.9% initial interest in Cairn India. Acreage held by its subsidiary Cairn India includes the Mangala AreaMangala Area
The Mangala Area, located in Block RJ-ON-90-1 , is a major oil field located in the Indian State of Rajasthan. The Mangala area actually consists of over 16 separate oil and gas fields of which the majority of the reserves are located in the three fields of Mangala, Bhagyam and Aishwariya...
in Rajasthan which is thought to contain up to 1 Goilbbl of recoverable reserves and came onstream 29 August 2009 with a projected plateau production rate of 175000 oilbbl/d.
Cairn still maintains production operations in the Sangu Gas Field offshore Bangladesh as well as exploration acreage in Northern India, Nepal and Southern Bangladesh. In August 2009, Cairns started oil production in Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, India. This oil production is expected to meet about 6% of India's oil demands over the next few years and will represent about 20% of current oil production capacity.
In September 2010, Vedanta Resources said that it was interested to buy a controlling stake of Cairn India. Union petroleum secretary S Sundareshan said that if Vedanta meets all the requirements for the deal there won't be any issue..“If the no-objection certificate is received from these 10 PSCs, the deal can get the green signal, he added. We have written to Cairn stating that they should seek these approvals." Vedanta Resources plans to acquire 51 percent to 60 percent stake in Cairn India for about US$9.6 billion.
Greenland
In Greenland Cairn operates through its subsidiary Capricorn Greenland Exploration Limited. In August 2007, it was announced that Cairn had submitted applications for two blocks located in the phase 2 of the DiskoDisko Island
Disko Island is a large island in Baffin Bay, off the west coast of Greenland. It has an area of , making it the second largest island of Greenland and one of the 100 largest islands in the world...
West licensing round offshore West Greenland. All together, it has six exploration licences, including Sigguk
Sigguk Block
Sigguk Block is an oil exploration block in Baffin Bay. It is located west of Disko Island, Greenland. The block consists of Alpha, T4, and T8 prospects. The license to explore the block belongs to Cairn Energy's subsidiary Capricorn Greenland Exploration Limited. In October 2009 Cairn Energy...
, Eqqua, Kingittoq and Saqqamuit blocks as an operator, and Atammik and Lady Franklin blocks as a minority partner in partnership with Encana Corporation.
Sri Lanka
2011 Sep, Cairn Energy Claimed that it discovered natural gas deposit in mannar, Sri Lanka and the company's plans to progress via its Indian SubsidiaryExternal links
- Cairn Energy Plc (official company website)
- Oil finds to revive Cairn output from 2007-TimesOnline article