Cairn invites bids for integrated development of MBA fields in Rajasthan to raise output

Cairn India Ltd has sought bids from oilfield service providers for integrated development of its main MBA fields in the prolific Rajasthan block as it looks at outside help to raise output.

Mangala, Bhagyam & Aishwariya (MBA) fields, the prime among over two dozen oil and gas discoveries in the Rajasthan block, have seen output stagnating at about 150,000 barrels of oil per day.

Cairn, which is now called Vedanta Ltd after its merger with the parent firm, wants service providers to do an integrated development of the field with a view to raising production above the present levels.

It however wants the companies to share the risk and will pay them the cost of their service plus a bonus if the production rises above an agreed base level.

“Vedanta envisions to ramp-up production from the MBA fields on a fast track basis and sustain thereafter for several years by significantly enhancing the ultimate recovery factors,” the company said in the bid documents issued on Monday.

It invited oilfield services companies “with end-to-end capabilities in domains such as sub-surface (enhanced oil recovery/improved oil recovery techniques), development planning, well construction, surface facilities development, reservoir management and production optimisation techniques” for the bidding“.

It added: “Interested parties/consortiums would preferably need to demonstrate strong and integrated capabilities across the entire oil and gas value chain as well as past experience of executing similar large scale developments.” MBA fields form the back bone of the prolific Rajasthan block with about 2.1 billion barrels of in place oil reserves. The fields were discovered in 2004 and brought into production in a staggered manner starting 2009. Major infrastructure is already in place in the area with a central oil processing terminal, 550 wells, intra-field pipelines, power and crude evacuation facilities.The field had touched a peak output of 175,000 barrels per day but has since been on the decline.

Billionaire Anil Agarwal had envisaged Rajasthan output to top 300,000 barrels per day, and possibly going up to 500,000 barrels per day, when he took over Cairn India in 2011.

But output was 157,338 barrels per day in January-March quarter, according to a company filing with the stock exchange.

Now Vedanta wants external help to raise the production.

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