Director Shareholding

Cairn Energy PLC
9 May 2002

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                                                                      9 May 2002



                  CAIRN ENERGY PLC ('Cairn' or 'the Company')

                 Section 329 Companies Act 1985 Notification



Cairn announces that it received notification on 9 May 2002 for the purposes of
Section 329 of the Companies Act 1985 that the Trustee of the Cairn Energy PLC
Employees' Share Trust ('the Trust') has purchased 1,000,000 of the Company's
Ordinary Shares of 10 pence each as detailed below.  The shares were acquired by
Regent Capital Trust Corporation Limited as Trustee of the Trust.  The Trust is
a discretionary trust for the benefit of employees of the Company and its
subsidiaries, which operates in conjunction with the Cairn Energy PLC Long Term
Incentive Plan ('the LTIP').



1.    All of the Executive Directors of the Company are potential
beneficiaries of the Trust, namely:-



Bill Gammell
Kevin Hart
Dr Mike Watts
Malcolm Thoms



2.    The transaction notified on 9 May 2002 in relation to the Trust is:-


Date of Transaction    Number of Ordinary Shares      Purchase Price of Ordinary
                               Purchased                        Shares

9 May 2002                       1,000,000                     £3.415



3.                   Following this transaction, the total shareholding of the
Trust is 3,791,576 Ordinary Shares.



4.    The actual number of Ordinary Shares (excluding those which
have previously vested) in which each of the Executive Directors has an
interest, subject to certain performance conditions being satisfied under the
LTIP is as follows:-


Name of Director       Number of Ordinary Shares      Number of Notional Shares
                               Under Tier 1                   Under Tier 2

Bill Gammell                             384,000                        447,000
Kevin Hart                               291,000                        293,000
Dr Mike Watts                            291,000                        293,000
Malcolm Thoms                            281,000                        293,000







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