Appointment of CEO

Cairn Energy PLC
20 April 2006

20th APRIL 2006



                                CAIRN ENERGY PLC


       Appointment of Chief Executive Officer for Cairn India IPO Company



Cairn Energy PLC has appointed Rahul Dhir to be Chief Executive Officer of the
new Indian business, which subject to market conditions, Cairn is aiming to list
through an IPO on the Bombay Stock Exchange in the last quarter of 2006 or early
2007. Rahul Dhir will join Cairn in May from Merrill Lynch where he is currently
a Managing Director and co-head of Energy and Power Investment Banking.


Rahul Dhir, who is aged 40, was born in Delhi and educated at the Indian
Institute of Technology in Delhi (Bachelor of Technology), the University of
Texas at Austin (Master of Science) and the Wharton Business School in
Pennsylvania (Master of Business Administration). Rahul started his career as an
oil and gas reservoir engineer before moving into investment banking and he has
worked at SBC Warburg, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch where he managed a team
advising several major oil companies and a number of independent E&P companies
on merger and acquisition and capital market related issues.


Commenting on the appointment Sir Bill Gammell said:


'We're delighted to have appointed Rahul Dhir from Merrill Lynch. I believe his
appointment will add significant momentum to the Indian business and facilitate
an early listing in Bombay. This appointment augments the strong skills and
excellent management already existing in the Cairn India team. At a time when
there is heightened interest in India as an oil and gas investment destination,
Rahul's skills, his intimate knowledge of India and his international banking
and specialist experience of world energy markets will be invaluable to the new
company.'


Rahul Dhir said:


'It is a privilege to lead Cairn's business in India. The assets are truly
outstanding and the company has a very professional organisation in place across
the country. It will be very exciting to create a new and thriving business from
this unique platform. Given the positive developments in the Indian economy and
investor interest in India I believe Cairn India is in the right place at the
right time to create a growing world class business headquartered in Delhi.'


Enquiries to:


Cairn Energy PLC: Tel: [phone]

Analysts/Investors

Bill Gammell Chief Executive

Kevin Hart Finance Director

Mike Watts Exploration Director

Media

David Nisbet, Head of Group Communications


Brunswick Group LLP: Tel: [phone]

Patrick Handley, Mark Antelme



Notes to Editors:


   •Cairn focuses its activities on the geographic region of South Asia.  The
    Group holds material exploration and production positions in west India,
    east India and Bangladesh along with new exploration rights in India and
    Nepal.


   •This focus on South Asia has already resulted in a significant number of
    oil and gas discoveries.  In particular, the Company made a major oil
    discovery (Mangala) in Rajasthan in the north west of India at the beginning
    of 2004.


   •India currently imports two million barrels of oil a day.  It produces
    650,000 bopd a day itself of which 50,000 bopd comes from the Cairn operated
    Ravva field on the east coast of India.


   •Cairn has recently opened a new Indian headquarters at Gurgaon on the
    outskirts of Delhi to provide improved support for the Rajasthan project
    team and to manage the Company's business interests in India.


   • 'Cairn' where referred to in this release means Cairn Energy PLC and/or
    its subsidiaries, as appropriate.



           For further information on Cairn see www.cairn-energy.plc.uk


Note: There are matters discussed in this Statement that are forward looking.
All such forward-looking statements are based on our management's assumptions
and beliefs in light of information available to them at this time.  These
forward-looking statements are, by their nature, subject to significant risks
and uncertainties and actual results, performance or achievements may be
materially different from those expressed in such statements.



                      This information is provided by RNS
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