Cairn sees India deal completion on horizon

LONDON |
Thu Oct 20, 2011 7:46pm IST

LONDON (Reuters) – British oil firm Cairn Energy said on Thursday it expected to shortly complete a long-delayed deal to sell a stake in its Indian business.

The company has been waiting for more than a year to conclude a $6 billion deal which will see miner Vedanta Resources buy a majority stake in Rajasthan-based oil producer Cairn India.

Cairn has repeatedly said it will return “substantial” funds to shareholders once the deal has completed.

Cairn, which will own a 22 percent stake in the Indian unit after the deal, has shifted its focus from India to exploration in Greenland, where it has so far been unsuccessful.

It has drilled six dry holes in the country in the last two years at a total cost of $785 million.

Drilling is ongoing at two wells off the coast of Greenland, the company said, adding the three unsuccessful wells it has drilled in 2011 plus one carried over from last year have cost a total of $573 million.

Shares in Cairn traded down 1.7 percent at 282.4 pence by 1339 GMT, underperforming the European oil and gas sector which was 0.5 percent lower, and valuing the firm at around 4 billion pounds ($6.3 billion). ($1 = 0.632 British Pounds)

(Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Lorraine Turner and David Hulmes)

Article source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/INbusinessNews/~3/55imCeF3c-U/idINIndia-60016920111020

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