Cairn, ONGC likely to hike Rajasthan production in 4 months

The oil ministry on October 7 intervened to sort out issues between joint venture partners, ONGC and Cairn India, over the prolific Barmer oil field at Rajasthan, reports CNBC-TV18's Nayantara Rai.

The ministry has also streamlined the approval process between the two JV partners and the DGH, a move that can expedite each proposal like drilling of wells by 5 months. The petroleum ministry's intervention has also enabled Cairn and ONGC to be on the same page when it comes to production ramp up. Both the companies have now agreed the Bhagyam oil production should be increased from the current 20,000 bpd to 25,000 bpd over four months. This is still short of the targeted 40,000 bpd production, and for which all government approvals are in place. Technical snags have prevented Cairn and ONGC reaching that target. While Cairn had been in favour of an immediate production ramp up, ONGC had favoured a more staggered approach. Sources have also said that Cairn India had alleged ONGC was dragging its feet in giving key approvals for plans in Rajasthan. ONGC on the other hand had said Cairn was not being forthcoming in its proposals and was not sharing its plans. The current production at the Rajasthan Barmer field stands at 175000/bpd.