Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was down 55.15 points, or 0.61%, to 8,946.60.

On BSE, 10,954 shares were traded in the counter. The stock had an average daily volume of 8.37 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 180 and a low of Rs 177.25 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 342.50 on 21 May 2008 and a 52-week low of Rs 88.15 on 27 October 2008.

Crude oil prices have been quite volatile in the last few days causing volatility in shares of global oil exploration firms and Cairn India has not been an exception. The stock had fallen 7.66% to Rs 154.25 on 3 March 2009 from a recent high of Rs 167.05 on 27 February 2009. There after, the stock had risen 14.46% to Rs 176.55 on 19 March 2009 from a recent low of Rs 154.25 on 3 March 2009.

The large-cap stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 19 March 2009, gaining 15.73% as compared to the Sensex's 0.45% fall. It had also outperformed the market in the past one quarter, rising 15.47% as compared to the Sensex's 10.87% fall.

The company's current equity is Rs 1896.67 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

The current price of Rs 180 discounts the company's Q4 December 2008 annualized EPS of Rs 0.95, by a PE multiple of 189.47.

Rise in crude oil prices would result in higher realizations from crude sales for the oil exploration firm. Crude oil for April 2009 delivery rose 7.21% or $3.47 to $51.61 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) on Thursday, 19 March 2009 as the dollar tumbled following the US Federal Reserve's plan to pump $1 trillion into the recession-hit economy. The crude oil prices settled above $50 on Thursday, 19 March 2009, for the first time in almost four months, since November 2008.

The April contract was down 80 cents, but still above the above $50 per barrel milestone, at $50.81. The April contract expires Friday at the close of trading in New York.

The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday, 18 March 2009, said that it will buy up to $300 billion worth of longer-term US government debt over the next six months and expand purchases of mortgage related debt to help ease credit market conditions.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) at its meeting on 15 March 2009, left its production quotas unchanged and said it would meet again at the end of May 2009 to review progress, surprising some traders who had expected the group's more hawkish members to prevail.

According to Opec figures, the 12 member states have so far delivered only around 80% of the 4.2 million barrels per day in cuts that have been agreed since September last year.

Oil price has plunged from a record high of $147 a barrel in mid-2008 and the prices are likely to remain depressed given with unfavorable demand-supply scenario. The global economic slowdown has hit demand for crude oil hard. In 2007, the world consumed 86 million barrels of crude oil every day (MBPD) - which is coming down.

As per recent reports, Reliance Industries and Essar Oil are keen on buying crude oil from Cairn India's Rajasthan fields even as the Petroleum Ministry struggles to find takers of the nation's most prolific oil discovery among public sector firms. Cairn has written to the Petroleum Ministry saying it would start oil production from Rajasthan next month with an initial output of 4,000-5,000 barrels per day (bpd), reports added.

Cairn India has got the Rajasthan government's nod for completion of the remaining part of its 600-kilometre-plus crude oil pipeline from Barmer fields in the state to Salaya in coastal Gujarat.

Earlier on 19 January 2009, Cairn had received government approval to develop three oil and gas discoveries in Kameshwari West and a new development area of 822 square kilometres in the northern appraisal area of Rajasthan blocks.

Cairn India on 22 December 2008 said it had made an oil and gas discovery near its existing field in Rajasthan. The company said the well had a flow of 500 barrels of oil per day and 0.4 million standard cubic feet of gas a day during a testing phase.

In November 2008, India's cabinet rejected an oil ministry proposal to award a deepwater block off the west coast to Cairn India, as the company had not offered the government an attractive enough share of potential production, or profit petroleum.

Cairn India reported a net profit of Rs 45.12 crore in Q4 December 2008 as compared to net loss of Rs 54.31 crore in Q4 December 2007. Total income surged 1555.1% to Rs 75.64 crore in Q4 December 2008 over Q4 December 2007.

Cairn India explores and produces crude oil and natural gas in India.