Edinburgh-based oil firm Cairn Energy said today it expected a long-delayed deal to sell a stake in its Indian business to complete “shortly”.
The company has been waiting for over a year to conclude a £3.4billion deal which will see miner Vedanta Resources buy a majority stake in Rajasthan-based oil producer Cairn India.
Cairn has repeatedly said it will return “substantial” funds to shareholders once the deal has completed.
Cairn, which will own a 22% stake in the Indian unit after the deal is finalised, has shifted its focus from India to exploration in Greenland but has so far had no success, drilling six dry holes in the country in the last two years.
Drilling is ongoing at two wells off the coast of Greenland, the company said, adding that the three unsuccessful wells it has so far drilled in 2011 cost a total of £364million.
Shares in Cairn traded down 0.8% to 283.5p at 11am valuing the firm at about £4billion.