OREANDA-NEWS. May 4, 2012. Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and Cairn India have sought permission for starting new exploration activities in Rajasthan, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting sources. The companies have also proposed to invest nearly USD 1billion in exploration activities and around USD 5 billion toward development capital.

Initial production from future discoveries will commence by 2014, sources say. Currently, ONGC which owns about a third of the Rajasthan fields (Bhagyam fields) yields about 175,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd).

ONGC and Cairn India have commenced production from their Bhagyam fields in Rajasthan in January this year . The commissioning of Bhagyam is a key milestone towards achieving the target production rate of 175,000 barrels of oil a day (bopd) by end of financial year 2011-12, a recent statement jointly issued by both companies had said.