DNA Jaipur 10th Anniversary: The amazing journey from kaala paani to black gold

At the outset, I would like to congratulate Team DNA for completing a glorious decade in the state of Rajasthan. In this time, DNA has exemplified journalistic values such as courage, integrity and fairness in its reporting and I wish you all the success in the future.

The last 10 years have been significant for both the state of Rajasthan and for us at Vedanta Cairn. We started operations in the state in 2009 and are approaching our 10th anniversary next year in 2019. Rajasthan, especially the region of Barmer, has undergone a sea change in the last decade and Vedanta Cairn has contributed in a big way to the growth of the oil and gas industry in state.

Vedanta Cairn today contributes almost 27 per cent of India’s crude oil production and a large part of it comes from our operations in the Barmer region of Rajasthan. The harsh climate and geography of Barmer made it difficult for people to make a living. Scarcity of water and frequent droughts meant that it was difficult to grow crops and this compounded the problem. Industry was non-existent and hence employment opportunities suffered. The region was once considered a ‘Kaala Paani’, a punishment posting for government officials due to the unfavourable conditions that prevailed here.

Today, Barmer is a shining example of how the discovery of natural resources such as oil and gas and the presence of a responsible corporate entity such as Vedanta Cairn, can transform the region and the lives of people living there. The district is now a front-runner in Rajasthan and ranks high on several socio-economic parameters. The industry has contributed to the economic upliftment of the people and added to Rajasthan’s progress through tax and profits to the state exchequer.

We are extremely proud to be a part of this growth story of Rajasthan and will continue to invest in the state, both in our business as well as various development initiatives that we have pioneered. Vedanta Cairn has always believed in establishing a diversified and sustainable portfolio, to deliver long-term value to host governments, local communities and all other stakeholders. We are committed to integrate Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as an integral part of Cairn’s business philosophy and strategic planning.

Our sustainability and community programmes have transformed the landscape of Barmer and enabled better living for communities in the region. Nand Ghar, a first of its kind PPP model, in partnership with the government has become a movement for a holistic approach towards child care and women empowerment. To improve farmer productivity in the region, we have partnered with the government’s Barmer Unnati Project to create water harvesting structures.

With the Jeevan Amrit project, Vedanta Cairn is implementing a major CSR intervention in partnership with PHED to support the government on water purification to provide safe drinking water to the community in Barmer. The vision is to ensure that everyone in Barmer has access to safe drinking water within 1 km of distance from home. In addition to these initiatives, we partner with local communities and NGOs for interventions in healthcare, education, skills development and capacity building trainings via the identification of employment and sustainable livelihood opportunities.

Energy security is critical to stable economic growth. While the push to generate renewable energy is commendable and necessary, India’s oil demand dynamics will require the energy sector to fire on all cylinders. Crude oil production will remain a critical component of India’s energy mix and dependence on oil imports, particularly from the middle-east, makes it vulnerable to external shocks that could destabilise economic growth in three ways. Robust domestic production would eliminate some of these risks and contribute significantly to the government’s Make in India push, generating much required jobs and economic growth while enhancing energy security.

Back in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had set the target to bring down India’s import dependence on oil and gas by at least 10 per cent by 2022. Cairn is very enthusiastic about the potential of oil and gas in Rajasthan and is ready to invest more. Due to the next round of exploration and production activities, new opportunities for economic development will be exposed in Rajasthan.

Currently, oil production of Barmer fields is more than 1.70 lakh barrels per day. Cairn has invested over USD 9 billion in Barmer Basin. The state has received more than USD 5 billion in revenue from this production.

Vedanta Cairn Oil and Gas has planned to invest 37,000 crores to increase the production of crude oil from Barmer’s oil fields. Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) programme for Mangla-Bhagyam-Aishwarya (MBA) areas has been started in the month of January.

This programme will help in achieving 5 lakh barrels of oil per day (BOPD) production target from Rajasthan. Initially, for next two years, the investment of INR 12,000 crores will aim to increase the production up to 3 lakh BOPD. Combining this, in the next few years, production will be increased to 5 lakh BOPD with a total investment plan of more than 37,000 crores.

We have proposed to double the production and the MBA-EOR project will play an important role in achieving more production goals. EOR technology and MBA project will be the largest polymer flood project in the world. Rajasthan will play a key role in the energy security of the country with vast, untapped reserves of hydrocarbons. Combined with the entrepreneurial spirit of the people, it can propel the state forward and lay the roadmap for others to follow.

We look forward to working alongside the people and government to write new chapters of progress and prosperity in the history of this great state in the years to come.

The author is CEO, Vedanta Cairn Oil and Gas