India's oil minister Murli Deora said his ministry has sought details on the proposed acquisition of majority stake by Vedanta in Cairn India, the local arm of of Britain's Cairn Energy. "We have told Cairn to write to us then we will decide," Deora told reporters on Friday. Vedanta, in its first move into the energy sector, is buying a controlling stake in India's No. 4 oil and gas company from Cairn Energy to capitalise on rising energy demand, economic growth and an expanding population. Cairn Energy Chairman Bill Gammell arrived in New Delhi and had held talks with Indian officials on Tuesday to iron out the approval process for the acquisition. The deal needs Indian government approval because Cairn India has production-sharing contracts (PSCs) with the government for oil and gas exploration blocks. According to the agreement, any ownership change will need federal approval. Approval from state-run explorer ONGC (ONGC.NS : 1259.05 -7.65
), which has a 30 percent stake in Cairn India's Rajasthan oil block called RJ-ON-90/1, is also crucial for any change of ownership.
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