Companies Act Notification

Cairn Energy PLC
20 May 2004


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



                                                                     20 May 2004



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


                   Section 329 Companies Act 1985 Notification



Cairn announces that it received notification on 19 May 2004 for the purposes of
Section 329 of the Companies Act 1985 that the Trustee of the Cairn Energy PLC
Employees' Share Trust ('the Trust') has purchased 928,967 of the Company's
Ordinary Shares of 10 pence each as detailed below. The shares were acquired by
Regent Capital Trust Corporation Limited as Trustee of the Trust. The Trust is a
discretionary trust for the benefit of employees of the Company and its
subsidiaries, which operates in conjunction with the Cairn Energy PLC Long Term
Incentive Plan 2002 ('the LTIP').

1. All of the Executive Directors of the Company are potential beneficiaries 
   of the Trust, namely:-

  Bill Gammell
  Mike Watts
  Kevin Hart
  Malcolm Thoms
  Philip Tracy

2.The transaction notified on 19 May 2004 in relation to the Trust is:-

  Date of            Number of Ordinary Shares       Purchase Price of 
  Transaction             Purchased                    Ordinary Shares

  19 May 2004               928,967                        £9.98

3. Following this transaction, the total shareholding of the Trust is 
   2,900,000 shares.

4. The actual number of Ordinary Shares (excluding those which have previously 
   vested) in which each of the Executive Directors has an interest, subject to 
   certain performance conditions being satisfied underthe LTIP is as follows:-

Name of            Number of Ordinary Shares        Number of Notional Shares 
Director                   Under Tier 1                    Under Tier 2
                                                                  
Bill Gammell                    233,000                      430,000
Mike Watts                      186,000                      330,000
Kevin Hart                      169,000                      330,000
Malcolm Thoms                   159,000                      330,000
Philip Tracy                    131,000                       81,000



                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange