MC EXCLUSIVE Cairn expects over 30,000 bpd of oil from its west coast portfolio in 2-3 years: CFO

In the ninth OALP bidding round (OALP-IX), the government on April 15 awarded seven new blocks to Cairn Oil & Gas—highest among India’s private players.

Cairn Oil & Gas expects its volumes to reach 30,000 to 40,000 barrels per day (bpd) from its acreages in west India in the next two to three years, as it has won seven blocks — the highest among private players —  in the recent Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) bids, the company's CFO Hitesh Vaid told Moneycontrol.

Among the blocks, four are onshore and three are shallow water blocks located in the hydrocarbon basins of Cambay, Saurashtra, and Mumbai.

Cairn currently produces around 8,000 to 9,000 barrels of crude per day from its existing blocks in the west.

“From a portfolio perspective, we are looking at building a robust west coast portfolio. Rather than (production) just being under 10,000 bpd, (we are expecting) it to give us 30,000 to 40,000 bpd,” said Vaid.

“The current production in the west  is from two places, one is the Cambay shallow water field and the other is the Jaya field (in Gujarat),” he added.

With the recently won blocks, Cairn’s portfolio now spans 69 blocks covering over 73,000 square km across the country. The biggest private player in the exploration and production (E&P) sector, Cairn currently produces around 25 percent of India's oil.

The company has set an ambitious target of accounting for 50 percent of India’s oil and gas production, and plans to increase its portfolio to achieve the same.

Foreign partnerships

On collaboration with foreign players to ramp up production, Vaid said that with the amended Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Act now in place, he sees interest among international oil companies to invest in the country.

“What they want clarity on is whether  there's willingness to focus on production, focus on creating value for the country… These international players want to come here for business, want to help India find oil. They know that India is a big market for oil,” explained Vaid.

With an eye on boosting investment in oil and gas exploration in India, the Lok Sabha passed the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill, 2024, on March 12, 2025.

In order to safeguard investors’ interests, the government has invited suggestions from the industry for making changes in the Petroleum and Natural Gas (PNG) rules, which regulate the grant of exploration licences in India’s petroleum and natural gas sector.