By IANS,
New Delhi: Energy major Cairn India Tuesday announced an increase in the total potential resource of its Rajasthan block to 6.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe), which will make it possible to reach a production of 240,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd).
“We have done a comprehensive internal review of the block. We had also asked a US firm, DeGolyer and MacNaughton, to conduct an independent estimate and it was in line with our own estimates,” said Cairn India managing director and chief executive officer Rahul Dhir at a press conference here.
“We understand that there is 6.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent to be found and extracted (in Rajasthan block),” said Dhir.
Out of this, the discovered resource base has increased from 3.7 to 4 billion boe, while the prospective resource bases is now estimated to be 2.5 billion boe.
The company currently produces 25,000 barrels and expects this to increase to 125,000 barrels by the middle of 2010.
The approved maximum capacity for the Barmer field is 175,000 bopd. With the increase in the size of the field, this capacity could go up to as high as 240,000 bopd.
“The resource base provides a basis for a vision to produce 240,000 barrels, subject to government of India’s approval and additional investments,” said the company in a statement.
Cairn holds 70 percent stake in the field, while state-run ONGC holds the remaining 30 percent. So far, Cairn India has invested about $4 billion. It will invest another $2 billion by 2011, for which funding has been tied up.
“This is not enough to take us to 240,000 bopd, and there will be incremental investment,” said Dhir.
The company has already made sales arrangement for 143,000 bopd with four customers, out of which two are public sector oil companies.