20th Apr 2006 11:33
Cairn Energy PLC20 April 2006 20th APRIL 2006 CAIRN ENERGY PLC Appointment of Chief Executive Officer for Cairn India IPO Company Cairn Energy PLC has appointed Rahul Dhir to be Chief Executive Officer of thenew Indian business, which subject to market conditions, Cairn is aiming to listthrough an IPO on the Bombay Stock Exchange in the last quarter of 2006 or early2007. Rahul Dhir will join Cairn in May from Merrill Lynch where he is currentlya Managing Director and co-head of Energy and Power Investment Banking. Rahul Dhir, who is aged 40, was born in Delhi and educated at the IndianInstitute of Technology in Delhi (Bachelor of Technology), the University ofTexas at Austin (Master of Science) and the Wharton Business School inPennsylvania (Master of Business Administration). Rahul started his career as anoil and gas reservoir engineer before moving into investment banking and he hasworked at SBC Warburg, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch where he managed a teamadvising several major oil companies and a number of independent E&P companieson merger and acquisition and capital market related issues. Commenting on the appointment Sir Bill Gammell said: "We're delighted to have appointed Rahul Dhir from Merrill Lynch. I believe hisappointment will add significant momentum to the Indian business and facilitatean early listing in Bombay. This appointment augments the strong skills andexcellent management already existing in the Cairn India team. At a time whenthere is heightened interest in India as an oil and gas investment destination,Rahul's skills, his intimate knowledge of India and his international bankingand specialist experience of world energy markets will be invaluable to the newcompany." Rahul Dhir said: "It is a privilege to lead Cairn's business in India. The assets are trulyoutstanding and the company has a very professional organisation in place acrossthe country. It will be very exciting to create a new and thriving business fromthis unique platform. Given the positive developments in the Indian economy andinvestor interest in India I believe Cairn India is in the right place at theright time to create a growing world class business headquartered in Delhi." Enquiries to: Cairn Energy PLC: Tel: 0131 475 3000 Analysts/Investors Bill Gammell Chief Executive Kevin Hart Finance Director Mike Watts Exploration Director Media David Nisbet, Head of Group Communications Brunswick Group LLP: Tel: 0207 404 5959 Patrick Handley, Mark Antelme Notes to Editors: •Cairn focuses its activities on the geographic region of South Asia. The Group holds material exploration and production positions in west India, east India and Bangladesh along with new exploration rights in India and Nepal. •This focus on South Asia has already resulted in a significant number of oil and gas discoveries. In particular, the Company made a major oil discovery (Mangala) in Rajasthan in the north west of India at the beginning of 2004. •India currently imports two million barrels of oil a day. It produces 650,000 bopd a day itself of which 50,000 bopd comes from the Cairn operated Ravva field on the east coast of India. •Cairn has recently opened a new Indian headquarters at Gurgaon on the outskirts of Delhi to provide improved support for the Rajasthan project team and to manage the Company's business interests in India. • "Cairn" where referred to in this release means Cairn Energy PLC and/or its subsidiaries, as appropriate. For further information on Cairn see www.cairn-energy.plc.uk Note: There are matters discussed in this Statement that are forward looking.All such forward-looking statements are based on our management's assumptionsand beliefs in light of information available to them at this time. Theseforward-looking statements are, by their nature, subject to significant risksand uncertainties and actual results, performance or achievements may bematerially different from those expressed in such statements. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Capricorn Energy PLC