Cairn to start pumping Rajasthan crude on 29 August

UK-based Cairn Energy's Indian arm, Cairn India, will start oil production from its Rajasthan fields on 29 August, the company's chief executive Rahul Dhir said at a conference call today.

Dhir said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the first production train and dedicate the field to the nation on Saturday. Oil minister Murli Deora and Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot would also attend the event.

The Mangala field will initially produce "a few thousand barrels of oil per day" and gradually ramp up production to 30,000 bpd, Dhir said, adding, that it will reach peak production of 1,25,000 bpd in the first half of 2010.

The first oil would be shipped to Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, a subsidiary of state-run ONGC, via the Kandla port in Gujarat, Dhir said.

ONGC also owns a minority stake in Cairn India's Rajasthan project. The two are planning additional investment to the tune of $1.5-1.8 billion in developing the Mangala field - the largest oil find in the country in more than two decades.

The two will also invest $600-700 million on Bhagyam and Aishwariya fields besides the nearly $1 billion being spent on laying a pipeline to Gujarat coast to transport the oil, he said.