Cairn India today reported its best ever quarterly performance with a 40 per cent jump in its net profit to Rs 3,825.7 crore in April-June on back of higher crude oil production from its showpiece Rajasthan fields. The 40 per cent increase is the biggest rise in net profit the company,which was listed on stock exchanges in 2007,has seen. Also,the Rs 3,825.7 crore,or Rs 14.28 per share,net profit in April-June is its biggest ever in a quarter. Cairn India,which was in December last year acquired by London-based miner Vedanta Resources Plc for USD 8.67 billion,boosted oil output 40 per cent after starting production from Bhagyam,the second biggest oilfield in Rajasthan,in January. Rajasthan is currently producing around 175,000 barrels per day (bpd) and has cumulatively produced over 100 million barrels since start of operation in end August in 2009,Cairn India said in a press statement. Output can go up by another 71 per cent to 300,000 bpd subject to regulatory approvals. "We have recently crossed the cumulative production milestone of 100 million barrels from the Rajasthan block. This has helped us reduce oil imports by USD 9 billion and has contributed about USD 3 billion to the national exchequer," said Rahul Dhir,Managing Director and CEO,Cairn India. "With the support of the Government of India,Government of Rajasthan and our joint venture partner,ONGC,we are well poised to further explore the potential in the hydrocarbon rich Barmer Basin in Rajasthan,thereby contributing to reduce our nation's crude import dependence," he said. Cairn said Mangala oilfield,the largest among the 25 oil and gas finds the company has made in the Thar dessert block,is currently producing around 150,000 bpd while Bhagyam is doing 25,000 bpd. Bhagyam has an approved peak of 40,000 bpd and can go up to 60,000 bpd subject to drilling of more wells. Aishwariya,the third biggest find on the Rajasthan block,is now expected to commence production by end of the current fiscal. The field would start with a 10,000 bpd production and can go up to 25,000 bpd. Cairn said it made a net foreign exchange gain of Rs 866.3 crore primarly due to the depreciation of rupee against the US dollar. "The average USD-Rupee exchange rate for Q1 FY 2012-13 was Rs 54.10 versus Rs 44.72 for Q1 FY 2011-12," the statement said. The company said its net realisation on sale of crude oil at USD 101 per barrel was less than USD 105.9 a barrel in the April-June period of last fiscal but higher production and rupee depreciation made up for the drop in oil price. Cairn said crude oil sales arrangements are in place with PSU and private refiners for volumes in excess of 175,000 bpd. The crude is currently being supplied to four refineries,including Reliance Industries and Essar Oil. The Rajasthan crude is benchmarked to Bonny Light,West African low sulphur crude. The implied crude price realisation for April-June was at 7.3 per cent discount,lower than the stated guidance of 10-15 per cent discount to Brent,due to the prevailing global macro-economic conditions and inter-product spreads. "The Rajasthan block has a total estimated gross in-place resource of 7.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) with an expected ultimate recovery of 1.7 billion boe," it said. "The resource base supports the currently envisaged basin potential of 300,000 bpd (equivalent to a contribution of about 40 per cent of India's total domestic current crude production)," Cairn added. The three main fields - Mangala,Bhagyam and Aishwariya (MBA) - have gross recoverable oil reserves and resources of approximately one billion barrels. Cairn India shares fell 1.7 per cent to Rs 321.20 at the close on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) before the earnings announcement. The stock has gained 2.2 per cent this year,lagging behind a 9.2 per cent increase in the benchmark Sensitive Index. Stocks More on Cairn India Company INFO More on Cairn India
