Cairn India CEO Steps Down

The Board of Cairn India announces that Mr. Rahul Dhir has decided to step down as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Company effective 31 August, 2012 to pursue his entrepreneurial interests.

The search for Mr. Dhir’s successor is underway and an announcement is expected soon. During this intervening period, the Board has appointed Mr. P. Elango, Director – Strategy and Business Services and a member of Cairn India’s Executive Committee, as the Interim CEO. Mr. Elango, an experienced oil & gas veteran has been with Cairn for over 15 years and has worked competently alongside Mr. Dhir for the past six years.

The Board expresses its appreciation for Mr. Dhir’s dedicated service and for leading the company from the front. Mr. Navin Agarwal, Chairman of Cairn India, said: “The success of Cairn India, under Rahul’s leadership has been achieved through building a globally competitive team, ensuring a strong focus on disciplined execution, sustaining low cost and safe operations and innovative application of technology. These strategic pillars will continue to remain core to Cairn India’s operating philosophy as it enters the next phase of its growth. We thank Rahul for his valuable contribution and wish him success in his future endeavours”.

Mr. Dhir has led Cairn India since its inception in 2006 and was instrumental in the successful IPO in January 2007. Under his leadership, Cairn India has grown into one of the leading oil & gas companies in India, with a market capitalization of over US $11 billion. Cairn India has a world-class resource base, and operates over 200,000 boepd of oil & gas production.

On the eve of this announcement, Mr Dhir said, “It’s been a privilege to be part of Cairn India’s remarkable growth story over the past six years. We have achieved all major milestones set out at the time of the IPO. With the completion of Vedanta’s acquisition, Cairn India’s exceptional organization and unique asset base are well placed to continue to deliver sustainable growth and value for our Nation and all our stakeholders. This is the right transition point for me to pursue my entrepreneurial interests. I take this opportunity to thank all my colleagues at Cairn India, and our Board for their contribution and support in creating this amazing Company!”

Mr. Agarwal further added “Cairn India is well poised to continue its focus on exploration, and on augmenting our current production from Rajasthan and focus on growth in India and beyond.”

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Press Release, August 9, 2012