Cairn renews Barmer block PSC

Much-needed private capital for the upstream is closer to being unlocked, but legal uncertainties remain

Privately held Indian E&P firm Cairn Oil & Gas renewed a ten-year PSC with India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MOPNG) for the Barmer oil block in the late October, de-risking a significant plank of the company’s planned $5bn investment programme in the country’s struggling upstream oil sector. The new contract will run until 2030, the initial licence to explore and produce oil and gas from the block having expired in May 2020.  Increased contribution from private sector oil and gas producers to India’s crude output would be a much-needed fillip for the upstream sector. The share of India’s crude output delivered by private companies has been in long-term decline. Private/j