Statement re Cairn India Ltd

Cairn Energy PLC
17 March 2008



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                              17 March 2008



                                CAIRN ENERGY PLC


              Cairn India arranges $625 million private placement


The attached release was issued today by Cairn India Limited ('Cairn India') to
the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India.


At the time of the IPO of Cairn India in December 2006, Cairn retained a 69%
holding in Cairn India. As a result of the private placement by Cairn India of
approximately Rupees (Rs) 25,346 million ($625 million) with Petronas and Orient
Global Tamarind Fund Pte Limited, the holding will reduce from 69% to 65%. The
proposed private placement by Cairn India requires shareholder approval which
will be sought at a meeting to be held on 16 April 2008; Cairn intends to vote
in favour of the proposal.

Enquiries to:
Cairn Energy PLC
Sir Bill Gammell, Chief Executive
Jann Brown, Finance Director                        Tel: [phone]

Brunswick Group LLP:                                Tel: [phone]
Patrick Handley, Mark Antelme,



Notes to Editors:


O      Cairn Energy PLC ('Cairn') is an Edinburgh-based oil and gas exploration
       and production company listed on the London Stock Exchange.

O      'Cairn' where referred to in this release means Cairn Energy PLC and/or
       its subsidiaries (including Cairn India and Capricorn), as appropriate.

O      'Cairn India' where referred to in the release means Cairn India Limited
       and/or its subsidiaries, as appropriate.

O      Cairn intends to announce its Preliminary results for the year to 31
       December 2007 on Monday, 31 March 2008.

                                      ___

For immediate release March 17 2008

                              CAIRN INDIA LIMITED

                Cairn India arranges US$625mm private placement

Cairn India has arranged a private placement of approximately Indian Rupees (Rs)
25,346 million / $ 625 million after entering an agreement with Petronas and
Orient Global Tamarind Fund Pte Limited further to which the investors have
agreed to purchase a total of 113 million shares of Cairn India at Rs 224.30 per
share.

The net proceeds of the private placement will be used to fund capital
expenditure and for general corporate purposes.

The Board of Directors of Cairn India Limited (CIL) at its meeting held on
Monday, March 17, 2008 has approved the placement through a preferential issue
of:

O      63,300,000 Equity shares of Rs. 10 each fully paid up equity shares of
       the Company at a price of Rs. 224.30 per share to Petronas

O      49,700,000 Equity shares of Rs. 10 each fully paid up equity shares of
       the Company at a price of Rs. 224.30 per share to Orient Global Tamarind 
       Fund Pte Limited

These shares will be locked in for a period of one year from the date of
allotment. Following the private placement, Petronas will own
approximately12.7%, of the equity share capital of CIL as enlarged by the
private placement and Orient Global Tamarind Fund Pte Limited will own
approximately 2.6% of the enlarged equity share capital of CIL.

The above mentioned proposed preferential issue is being made in accordance with
Section 81 (1A) of the Companies Act 1956 and Chapter XIII of the SEBI
(Disclosure and Investor Protection) Guidelines, 2000 and is subject to approval
of the shareholders and applicable regulatory approvals. A meeting of the equity
shareholders of the Company is proposed to be convened on April 16 2008 for
obtaining their approval to the aforesaid proposal.

The issue price represents a 0.46% premium to the average closing price on the
National Stock Exchange of the last two trading days prior to the announcement.

Rahul Dhir Chief Executive officer of Cairn India said:

'Cairn India is entering an exciting period of growth. The company is confident
of producing first commercial oil from Rajasthan in 2009. The private placement
will help the Company towards meeting its investment plans and provide greater
financial and operational flexibility. We are delighted to have investors like
Petronas and Orient Global show their commitment to subscribe to Cairn India's
business.'

Enquiries to:

Analysts/Investors

Anurag Mantri, Investor Relations Manager [phone]


Media

David Nisbet, Director, Corporate Communications [phone]



About Cairn India Limited


O      'Cairn India' where referred to in the release means Cairn India Limited
       and/or its subsidiaries, as appropriate.

O      'Cairn' where referred to in this release means Cairn Energy PLC and/or
       its subsidiaries (including Cairn India), as appropriate.

O      Cairn India is headquartered in Gurgaon on the outskirts of Delhi, with
       operational offices in Chennai, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan.

O      On 9 January 2007, Cairn successfully concluded the flotation of its
       Indian business with the commencement of trading of Cairn India Limited 
       on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India. 
       Cairn Energy PLC currently holds a 69% shareholding in Cairn India 
       Limited.

O      Cairn India is currently focused on exploration and production in India
       where it has a working interest in 14 blocks, two of which are producing
       hydrocarbons.  The company holds material exploration and production 
       positions in west India and east India along with new exploration rights 
       elsewhere in India.

O      This focus on India has already resulted in a significant number of oil
       and gas discoveries.  In particular, Cairn made a major oil discovery 
       (Mangala) in Rajasthan in the north west of India at the beginning of 
       2004. More than 20 discoveries have been made in Rajasthan block 
       RJ-ON-90/1.

O      PETRONAS is wholly-owned by the Malaysian government and is vested with
       the entire ownership and control of the petroleum resources in Malaysia 
       through the Petroleum Development Act 1974, an Act of Parliament. 
       PETRONAS is a fully-integrated oil and gas corporation and is ranked 
       among FORTUNE Global 500's largest corporations in the world and operates
       in 33 countries. For more information, visit www.petronas.com .

O      Orient Global is a Singapore-based private investment institution focused
       on building sustainable prosperity through investments in financial and 
       social businesses. Founded by Richard Chandler, Orient Global has been a 
       pioneer in emerging markets investment for over twenty years during which
       time it has provided capital to companies and governments from Asia and 
       Africa to Latin America and Eastern Europe. For more information, visit 
       www.orientglobal.com

O      India currently imports approximately 2,000,000 barrels of oil per day
       (bopd).  It produces approximately 700,000 bopd itself of which 
       approximately 50,000 bopd comes from the Cairn India operated Ravva field
       on the east coast of India

O      For further information on Cairn India Limited see www.cairnindia.com




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