Cairn India makes new oil discovery in Rajasthan block

Cairn India has said it has made the 26th oil discovery in its prolific Rajasthan block, the discovery follows allowing the company to explore for oil on block well after expiry of the exploration phase. "Cairn India has made its latest oil discovery, the 26th discovery so far in the RJ-ON-90/1 block, following recent policy clarity by Government of India (GoI) to conduct exploration activity in development blocks," the company said in a statement in New Delhi on Tuesday. Block oversight panel, called the Management Committee approved the exploration work programme for the RJ-ON-90/1 block on 14th February after which Cairn India, the Operator of the block, commenced the drilling of its first Exploration well, Raageshwari-South-1, on 25th February located in the southern part of the block. "Technical evaluations indicate about 10 metres of gross oil column within Dharvi Dungar Formation," it said. "Oil has been discovered and tested for the first time in Dharvi Dungar sands in Raageshwari-Tukaram area, where previous discoveries were in the shallower Thumbli sands," Cairn said, adding the volumes of oil in place and the potential resource base associated with this discovery are under evaluation. Cairn Chief Executive Officer P Elango said the discovery in the block "reaffirms our belief that an aggressive exploration drilling programme will help harness the full potential of theBarmer Basin in Rajasthan." "This is a step closer towards reserve accretion through exploration-led growth," he added.