Cairn bows to pressure

CAIRN ENERGY, the Edinburgh-based independent, has signed a heads-of-agreement with India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for the farm-out of its prize assets in the country to ONGC, the farm-in to two exploration blocks from ONGC and the formation of a strategic alliance between the companies. The proposed deal is subject to finalisation of mutually acceptable sales and purchase agreements between the two companies and approval by the government. Cairn has farmed out a 90%-operated interest in the KG-DWN-98/2 deep-water exploration block, in the Krishna Godavari basin, offshore Andhra Pradesh, for which Cairn signed a production-sharing contract in April 2000. An extensive explorat