Houston, Texas: Cairn Oil & Gas, India’s largest independent oil and gas company (part of Vedanta Limited, the world’s sixth largest natural resources company), this week hosted a series of global partnership meetings with oil and gas production, technology and services companies in Houston, Texas. The meetings were led by Mr. Anil Agarwal, Chairman of Vedanta Resources Limited, and Mr. Sudhir Mathur, CEO of Cairn Oil & Gas.

With an ambitious vision to reduce India’s crude oil imports by 50% by 2030, the Government of India recently auctioned 55 new oil and gas basins for exploration in the country. As a significant recognition of Cairn’s track record and capabilities, the company was awarded 41 of these 55 new oil blocks. With the allocation of these new blocks, the company is looking to partner with global exploration and production and technology companies to expedite the exploration works for its newly awarded 41 blocks.

Mr. Anil Agarwal, Executive Chairman, Vedanta Resources Limited, commented: “We fully support India’s drive to become self-sufficient in energy resources by 2030. We strongly believe in India’s growth prospects, in the country’s huge oil and gas potential and will commit the investment needed over the next five years in the upstream activities. Striving to adhere to global best practice and to maximise the potential of the reserves in a sustainable manner, we believe that international expertise and cutting-edge technologies will be critical for the successful execution of this ambitious programme. We are excited to play an integral role in the development of India’s oil sector and contribute to India’s energy-security vision.”

Mr. Sudhir Mathur, CEO, Cairn Oil & Gas, added: “We are gearing up for a new, extended phase of growth with considerable investments in our brownfield, as well as greenfield blocks. The best technology and expertise will be critical to fast-track this process and realise our vision to achieve energy security for India. That is why this week we are here, in Houston, Texas, the global oil and gas hub, meeting partners and discussing potential collaborations for this expansion.”

Cairn Oil & Gas seeks to establish mutually valuable long-term partnerships with the leading international oil and gas companies to undertake development projects in India. Field development would include assessment and augmentation of the resource base, exploration, analysis of development alternatives, optimisation and execution of integrated development plan and management of production life cycle to ensure the most efficient and sustainable oil reserves development. These projects for field development will be based on integrated development approach, rather than a conventional contracting basis. The company seeks to share end-to-end exploration and development solutions with integrated scope that ensures more value-oriented and sustainable approach.

Cairn Oil & Gas currently accounts for more than 25% of India’s domestic crude oil production. It has a world-class resource base estimated at c. 1.3 billion BOE proved and probable reserves and resources.

About Cairn Oil & Gas

Cairn Oil & Gas, a vertical of Vedanta Limited, is one of the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production companies in India, accounting for more than a quarter of India’s domestic crude oil production. It has a world-class resource base, with a current interest in 46 blocks in India, including the newly awarded 41 blocks under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) Round I auction. In 2004, Cairn made the largest onshore discovery in more than two decades in Mangala, Rajasthan. In its operations of 20 years, Cairn has opened 4 frontier basins with numerous discoveries; 38 in Rajasthan alone.

Cairn is part of the Vedanta Resources Limited, the world’s sixth largest diversified natural resources conglomerate with interest in oil and gas, zinc-lead-silver, copper, iron ore, aluminium, and commercial power. The company has a presence across India, South Africa, Namibia, Australia, and Ireland. Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta’s strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety, and environment, and on enhancing the lives of local communities. The company has been conferred the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) “Sustainable Plus Platinum” label and ranks among the top 10 most sustainable companies in India.