Cairn Oil & Gas, a subsidiary of Vedanta Group, plans to invest approximately $1 billion in Alkaline-Surfactant-Polymer (ASP) injection to enhance production from ageing oil fields in Rajasthan, the company’s Chief Financial Officer, Hitesh Vaid, said on the sidelines of India Energy Week. The company, which currently contributes 25% of India’s oil and gas production, is targeting a 50% share in the country’s domestic output.
Vaid said the company is planning a capital expenditure of $3-4 billion over the next three to four years to expand its upstream operations and support production growth. “Last year, we invested around $400 million in our fields, wells, and expansion activities. Now, with ASP flooding expansion, tight oil development, deepwater, and shale, we are looking at a $3-4 billion investment in the coming years,” he said.
The company is also focusing on offshore expansion and acquiring deepwater blocks, diversifying its portfolio beyond its significant onshore assets. “Our vision is to contribute 50% of India’s domestic energy production. Currently, we contribute 25%, and now we need to double it by acquiring acreages,” Vaid said.
Cairn Oil & Gas has 62 blocks covering approximately 60,000 square kilometers. Of these, five blocks are currently in production, while the remaining are at the exploration stage. Alongside increasing production from new wells, the company is also working on mitigating production decline in its mature fields. “We hope the declining trajectory changes next year, showing growth both on an annual and quarterly basis,” Vaid said.
In addition to its core oil and gas operations, Cairn is venturing into coal bed methane (CBM) exploration. The company has acquired a CBM block and plans to commence operations there within the next eight to ten months.
