Director Shareholding

Cairn Energy PLC
28 April 2005


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                                                                   28 April 2005


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

                         Directors' Interests in Shares
          Awards under the Company's Long Term Incentive Plan ('LTIP')

Cairn announces that on 19 April 2005, a total of 644,834 Ordinary shares of 10p
each in the Company vested in favour of certain of the Executive Directors under
the LTIP. Under the LTIP Rules, 50% of the shares are to be released within 30
days of vesting by the Company's Employees' Share Trust ('the Trust') to the
Executive Directors. The balance of the shares is withheld by the Trust and rel
eased to the individuals after one year.

Cairn also announces that it has today been notified by the Trustee of the Trust
that a total of 613,808 Ordinary shares were released by the Trust on 27 April
2005 to certain Executive Directors of the Company under the LTIP. The shares
comprise (i) 322,415 of the 644,834 Ordinary shares of 10p each in the Company
which vested on 19 April 2005; and (ii) 291,393 Ordinary shares of 10p each in
the Company which were released to certain Executive Directors following the
expiry of the one year withholding period in respect of an LTIP award which
vested on 10 March 2004. Details of the shares vesting and the shares released
from the Trust are as follows:-

Director   Shares released pursuant to Shares released pursuant to   Total
           vesting on 19 April 2005    expiry of withholding         shares
                                       period                        released

Bill Gammell       88,357                       102,534               190,891
Mike Watts         79,686                        62,953               142,639
Kevin Hart         79,686                        62,953               142,639
Malcolm Thoms      74,686                        62,953               137,639
Phil Tracy              -                             -                     -


Following the release of shares from the Trust, the Executive Directors sold a
total of 702,507 shares on 27 April 2005 at a price of £11.90 per share. Details
of the share sales and the resulting effect on the Directors' shareholdings are
set out below:-





Director   Shareholding before    Shareholding after    Shares    New
           vesting on 19 April    vesting on 19 April   Sold*     Shareholding
           2005                   2005
Bill Gammell    1,095,000             1,271,715        131,715      1,110,000**
Mike Watts        250,000               409,373        134,373        275,000
Kevin Hart        290,000               449,373        248,780        200,593
Malcolm  Thoms    315,002               464,375        187,639        276,736


*includes shares sold to cover income tax and national insurance liabilities.
** Bill Gammell is not a beneficiary of a Trust which holds 30,000 Cairn shares.
His 'New Shareholding' reflect this.

Cairn also announces that today the following awards were made under the LTIP to
Directors of the Company at a price of £11.90 per share (being the mid-market
closing price on 27 April 2005):-

Director     Number of Ordinary Shares under   Number of Notional Shares under
             Tier One                          Tier Two

Bill Gammell                          53,500                            71,400
Mike Watts                            36,500                            60,900
Kevin Hart                            33,400                            55,600
Malcolm                               33,400                            55,600
Thoms
Phil Tracy                            31,500                            42,000

Following this announcement, the Executive Directors' beneficial interests in
the Ordinary shares of the Company are as follows:-

Director   Number of       Percentage of       Number of     Outstanding
           Ordinary        Issued Share        Share
           Shares          Capital             Options
                                                             Awards under LTIP
                                                             Tier      Tier
                                                             One       Two
Bill Gammell   1,110,000      0.70             -             246,500   251,400
Mike Watts       275,000      0.17             -             172,500   190,900
Kevin Hart       200,593      0.13             -             152,400   185,600
Malcolm Thoms    276,736      0.17             -             152,400   185,600
Phil Tracy         5,000      0.003            -             162,500   123,000






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