Vedanta Resources subsidiary Cairn India commences oil production at Aishwarya field

FTSE 100-listed globally diversified natural resources group Vedanta Resources' subsidiary Cairn India has commenced oil production at the Aishwarya Field in the Rajasthan Block.

Cairn India said that the Cairn-ONGC Joint Venture commenced production from the Aishwariya field, the third largest discovery in the Rajasthan Block, also referred to as "RJ-ON-90/1".

The company reported that the field would achieve a gradual and safe ramp up to reach the currently approved FDP (field development plan) rate of 10,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd).

The Mangala, Bhagyam and Aishwariya (MBA) fields have gross recoverable oil reserves and resources of approximately one bn barrels and production from the Rajasthan Block currently contributes more than 23% of India's domestic production, Cairn India said.

Elango: Commencing oil production at Aishwariya - a 'major milestone'Mr P Elango, Member of the Board of Cairn India said: "Commencing production from Aishwariya field is another major milestone in the journey to unlock the full potential of world class Barmer basin.

"We have worked closely with all stakeholders to ensure that the project is delivered on time. The production will be gradually ramped up to 10,000 barrels per day and this will further reduce the nation's import bill."

He added: "Our gross Rajasthan development investment to date is more than INR 18,000 crores and we intend to invest over INR 6,000 crores in exploration and development activities during FY2013-14."

A crore is a unit used in the Indian currency system and it is equivalent to 10m rupees.

Cairn India's resource base is located in four strategically focused areas comprising one block in Rajasthan, two on the west coast of India, six on the east coast of India (including one in Sri Lanka) and one in South Africa.

The blocks are located in the Barmer Basin, Krishna-Godavari Basin, the Palar-Pennar Basin, the Cambay Basin, the Mumbai Offshore Basin, Mannar Basin and Orange Basin.

MF