Govt nominates IndianOil, MRPL to lift Cairn crude
New Delhi   25-Mar-2009
<b>Production likely to begin from Rajasthan in a month's time</b> IndianOil and Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) are among the public sector refiners who have been nominated by the Government to lift Cairn India's Rajasthan crude. Speaking to newspersons on the sidelines of Natural Gas for Vehicles (NGV) India 2009 Conference & Exhibition here on Tuesday, the Petroleum Secretary, Mr. R.S. Pandey said, "We have named some of the refineries as Government nominees to take Cairn crude". While MRPL has been nominated as the buyer of the initial crude oil from Cairn's Rajasthan fields, IndianOil would take the crude once volumes rise. "I am told crude oil production will begin in about a month's time in small quantities," he said. <b>Initial Production</b> Cairn will initially produce 4,000-5,000 barrels of oil a day from its fields in Barmer district of Rajasthan. Subsequently, Cairn, along with its partner ONGC plans to increase production at the Mangala and adjacent Bhagyam and Aishwariya fields to 175,000 barrels a day. <b>Gas Sale & Purchase Pact</b> When asked about the gas sale and purchase agreement (GSPA) to be inked between Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and fertiliser companies, the Secretary said, "I am told by the Department of Fertiliser and the supplier RIL that contractual issues are almost finalised and the GSPA will be signed in the next few days". <b>Sectors Prioritised</b> The Government has already prioritised the sectors to which RIL will sell gas from its D6 block in the Krishna-Godavari basin. RIL will sell 15 million standard cubic metres a day of gas to 12 fertiliser companies on priority. Mr. Pandey also said that "I am told that Reliance will start production in early April (April first week)". Asked if the Government had plans to change the allocation of KG-D6 gas, he said the priority list decided by an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) will not be altered.