Cairn offers India assets to ONGC for $3.8bn

UK-based Cairn Energy is believed to have offered to sell its Indian assets, which include the 1-billion barrel oilfield in Rajasthan, to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for $3.8 billion.

Cairn made the offer to sell its 22.5% stake in the Ravva oilfield, which produces about 50,000 barrels of crude oil per day, and majority ownership in RJ-ON-90/1 block in Rajasthan where more than a dozen discoveries have been made establishing over 1 billion barrels of in-place oil reserves in December 2005, industry sources said.

The $3.8 billion asking price was also inclusive of Cairn's interest in the Cambay basin block CB/OS-2 - home to 130 million standard cubic feet per day producing Lakshmi and Gauri gas fields and a potential oilfield. However, Cairn's Bangaldesh assets are not part of the deal.

Sources said ONGC found the asking price "too high" , and has put a figure of $2-2.2 billion.

While ONGC chairman Subir Raha was unavailable for comments, Cairn Energy spokesperson David Nisbet said; "It was not company policy to comment on market rumours." (PTI)