Cairn India Ltd., the nation’s biggest onshore oil driller, is targeting an 18% increase in output from its wells in the northern state of Rajasthan in January as it revives older fields in its largest producing block, according to company and government officials.
The company’s crude equivalent output from the region may climb to an average 200,000 bpd by January from about 170,000 bpd now as the enhanced recovery project yields results, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is confidential. State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp. is a 30% partner at the site.
Cairn India spokesman Sourav Das declined to comment ahead of an earnings announcement on Oct. 21.
Cairn India CEO Mayank Ashar in April said the company had allocated 45% of its $500 million planned capital spending for the year to March 31 to its core fields, including the largest, Mangala, in Rajasthan. The company expects to ramp up output from the field as early as December, he said in July.
Brent oil, the global benchmark, which has fallen about 40% from a year ago, traded at $53.72/bbl at 8:20 a.m. London time. The grade has increased 12% this week, the most since March 2009. Crude prices may remain low in the near term but will be substantially higher in a year’s time, Ashar said in August.