The investment will be fully funded from the firm's cash resources and will target adding 530 million barrels of oil to its reserves.
Former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns is in an intensive care unit at a Sydney hospital after undergoing cardiovascular surgery following a major heart incident in Canberra last week.
In an attempt to stop states from levying local sales tax on inter-state transactions, the Centre has told Rajasthan that only Central Sales Tax can be levied on crude oil sold from Cairn India's fields in the state to refiners elsewhere.
For India to invoke "sovereign" or "state" immunity to safeguard its foreign assets, which are under threat of getting seized in the intensifying legal battle with Cairn Energy, may come with several riders. Experts point out that the Indian government has to first satisfy the French court that the properties or assets that are under consideration are being used to dispense the state's sovereign functions.
Cairn India, a unit of UK-based Carin Energy, will have the potential to account for 20 per cent of India's oil production in the next decade once oil starts flowing from its three fields in Rajasthan.
NRI billionaire Anil Agrawal-led Vedanta Group on Tuesday said its open offer for 20 per cent stake in Cairn India will begin on October 11, as part of its $9.6 billion takeover deal of the country's fourth largest oil explorer.
Minister of state for petroleum and natural gas Jitin Prasada in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha said that IOC and MRPL have been allocated 0.20 million tonnes each in 2009-10, while HPCL would offtake 0.30 million tonnes of Rajasthan crude. In 2010-11, IOC would buy 1.5 million tonnes of the crude oil from the nation's most prolific oil discovery in more than two decades, while MRPL would double its offtake to 0.40 million tonnes.
A Group of Ministers headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukhejree is likely to meet on Monday to vet London-listed mining group Vedanta Resources' $ 9.6 billion acquisition of Cairn India.
The government on Tuesday confirmed that a French court has ordered the freezing of certain Indian assets in Paris on a petition by Britain's Cairn Energy, which is seeking to recover $1.72 billion from New Delhi after winning an arbitration against retro tax. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha said the government has filed an appeal against an international arbitration tribunal overturning levy of Rs 10,247 crore in back taxes on Cairn Energy. "Yes sir, an order has been passed by a French Court freezing certain Indian government properties in the case pertaining to Cairn Energy," he said.
The consortium has identified a high-value, high-risk prospect at the site.
Public shareholders of Cairn India will lose out on a whopping Rs 3,570 crore (Rs 35.7 billion) to the promoters who would be only beneficiary of a non-compete fees to be paid by its suitor, London-listed Vedanta group.
Cairn Energy has threatened the Indian government that it is looking at executing the favourable $1.2 billion international tribunal award in the retrospective taxation case by seizing India's overseas assets.
In a sudden volte-face, the government is veering around the idea of setting up a Rs 8,000 crore refinery in Rajasthan to process crude oil found in the state.
A plea of the UK-based Vedanta group company to export its share of crude oil from Barmer oil field in Rajasthan was on Tuesday rejected by the Delhi high court on the ground that domestic crude cannot be exported till India attained "self sufficiency".
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to restrain Vedanta Resources' subsidiary Sesa Goa from launching an open offer to buy 20 per cent stake in Cairn India.
The proposed 7.5 million tonne per annum refinery was to process crude oil from Cairn India's field in Barmer, which is expected to start producing in the first half of 2009.
Company will also launch a global road show from May 23 for the bond placement.
Cairn's contractual term for exploring and producing oil from the Rajasthan Block RJ-ON-90/2 expires in 2020 and the area is to return to the block licensee, ONGC.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday indicated the government's intent to appeal against an arbitration panel asking India to return USD 1.4 billion to UK's Cairn Energy Plc, saying it is her "duty" to appeal in cases where the nation's sovereign authority to tax is questioned.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday reiterated that an international arbitration ruling on India's sovereign right to taxation sets the wrong precedent, but said the government is looking at how best it can sort out the issue arising out of New Delhi being ordered to return $1.2 billion plus interest and cost to UK's Cairn Energy Plc. The government, which participated in an international arbitration brought by the Scottish firm against being taxed retrospectively, has appealed against The Hague based tribunal's ruling asking the government to return the value of shares expropriated and liquidated, tax refunds withheld and dividend seized to recover a wrongly levied retroactive tax demand.
While Vedanta Aluminium, Balco and Cairn India confirmed the job cuts, sources said Sesa Goa too had slashed jobs.
India has won an international arbitration against British firm Cairn Energy on cost deducted by the operators of Ravva oil and gas field, off the Andhra coast, before payment of government's share of profit petroleum.
Weak production outlook, low crude oil prices and regulatory issues could keep the scrip in check
Billionaire Anil Agarwal's mining group Vedanta on Monday said it has withdrawn cases in the Delhi high court as well as before an international arbitration tribunal to settle a Rs 20,495 crore retrospective tax dispute with the government. Post slapping of a Rs 10,247 crore tax demand on UK's Cairn Energy Plc for alleged capital gains made on a 2016 internal reorganisation prior to the listing of its India business, the Income Tax Department had sought Rs 20,495 crore in taxes (including penalty) from Cairn India for failing to deduct tax on capital gains made by its British parent. Cairn India was in 2011 bought by Agarwal's group and subsequently, the firm was merged with Vedanta Ltd.
UK's Cairn Energy Plc plans to bring lawsuits in the US and other countries to pierce the corporate veil between the Indian government and its owned companies such as in oil and gas, shipping, airline and banking sectors, to seize their overseas assets to recover $1.2 billion ordered by an international arbitration tribunal. The firm has moved courts in the US, UK, Canada, France, Singapore, the Netherlands and three other countries to register the December 2020 arbitration tribunal ruling that overturned the Indian government's Rs 10,247 crore demand in back taxes and ordered New Delhi to return $1.2 billion in value of shares it had sold, dividends seized and tax refunds withheld to recover the tax demand. With the government so far refusing to honour the arbitration award and instead choosing to challenge it, Cairn is looking to enforce it by seizing overseas Indian assets, Dennis Hranitzky, head of the sovereign litigation practice at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, a law firm representing the company, told PTI.
Cairn tax demand has not reduced investors' enthusiasm: Jaitley
Mining magnate Anil Agarwal's conglomerate on Friday announced a major business shake-up, with flagship Vedanta Ltd approving a spin-off of its metals, power, aluminium and oil and gas businesses into separate listed entities and an overhaul of lucrative zinc unit planned as part of value creation and reducing debt load. Vedanta will issue one share of the five demerged businesses for every share held in the company, the firm said in a statement. The entire exercise, which would require shareholder and lender approval as well as a nod from the stock exchanges and courts, is expected to be completed in 12-15 months, its president for finance Ajay Agarwal said.
The government may be waiting for the outcome of an arbitration initiated against its levy of Rs 10,247 crore retrospective tax on UK's Cairn Energy Plc before deciding on appealing against losing a tax case against Vodafone Group, sources said. An international arbitral tribunal is expected to give a decree within next few days on Cairn Energy Plc's challenge to the Indian government seeking Rs 10,247 crore in retrospective taxes. If the arbitration award in the Cairn cases goes against India, the government has to pay the British firm over Rs 7,600 crore to reverse the dividend and tax refund it had ceased and shares it sold to recover part of the tax demand.
The Indian State's arbitrariness may have come to be accepted with resignation within the country, but when it behaves in the same manner with external players, it gets a push-back, observes T N Ninan.
The retrospective tax controversy was highlighted by Vodafone, but Cairn Plc's continuing problems point to the impact this law has had on FDI in India's oil and gas sector.
Scottish explorer Cairn Energy Plc rejected state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp's $200 million bid to acquire its oil and gas properties on east and west coasts of India.
The government on Thursday brought a bill in the Lok Sabha to withdraw all back tax demands on companies such as Cairn Energy and Vodafone and said it will refund the money collected to enforce such levies.
For simplification and a sharper strategic focus, BHP Billiton has been reassessing its global assets portfolio.
India has challenged in a Singapore court a verdict of an international arbitration tribunal that overturned its demand for Rs 22,100 crore in back taxes from Vodafone Group Plc, sources said on Thursday. An international arbitration court had on September 25 rejected tax authorities' demand for Rs 22,100 crore in back taxes and penalties relating to the British telecom giant's 2007 acquisition of an Indian operator. Two sources privy to the development said India had 90 days to file an appeal against the tribunal award, and the same was done in a Singapore court earlier this week.
The much-talked-about sale of Ambuja Cement and ACC by Holcim Group will see the single-biggest outflow of foreign capital from the country if the two cement firms are acquired by Indian investors. The deal, valued at nearly $10.35 billion, will put in the shade Cairn Energy Plc's exit from India in 2010, when it sold Cairn India to Vedanta Group for $4.48 billion. According to various reports, big business groups such as AV Birla, JSW Group, and Adani Group are in the fray to acquire Holcim's assets in India.
Anil Agarwal, chairman of the Vedanta group, has not started the New Year on a good note.
British energy firm Cairn Energy on Wednesday said its oil and gas operations in offshore Andhra Pradesh have not been affected by the Tsunami tidal waves caused by a massive earthquake.
New Zealand coach Ashley Ross said the final eleven for the match against India will be named on Thursday from its 12 remaining players.