The Hindu Business Line : Cairn yet to find solution for evacuation of Rajasthan crude

Cairn India is yet to find a solution for evacuation of its Rajasthan crude scheduled to start flowing in 2009. The company has identified four finds Mangala, Bhagyam, Shakti and Aishwariya with an estimated plateau production capacity of 1,50,000 barrels per day.

Cairn holds 70 per cent stake in the block and the residual stake is held by ONGC.

"We are actively discussing with the Government and third parties to finalise the evacuation plan," Mr David Nisbet, Director Corporate Communications of Cairn India, told newspersons during a recent visit to the Ravva oilfield.

`Comfortably positioned'

Though he maintained that the company will continue to focus on upstream activities, Mr Nisbet did not rule out the possibility of Cairn's involvement in "mid-stream activities" pertaining to the evacuation of Rajasthan crude.

"However, nothing is finalised as yet," he added.

When asked about the timeframe for finalising the evacuation plan, which had a direct bearing on the production plan, Mr Nisbet said that the company was "comfortably positioned" to work out the best solution for the evacuation.

The Centre had earlier nominated Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) — an ONGC subsidiary — for evacuation of the Rajasthan crude.

Though initially planned to set up a grass root refinery at Barmer in Rajasthan, MRPL later developed a cold feet on the project, reportedly due to issues related to returns on investment.

The proposal for evacuation of the crude for refining it at MRPL's existing refinery at Mangalore also did not find much headway.

Interestingly, Mr Nisbet did not clarify whether MRPL would play any role in the fresh evacuation proposals under discussion.

According to the company, Mangala will be developed first. The rest three fields Bhagyam, Shakti and Aishwariya will be operational within an year leading to plateau production rate.