Wednesday, July 26 2006 19:08 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said that the state has achieved the distinction of emerging on the oil map of the world.

She said that the vast reserves of oil and natural gas found in Barmer district, over 350 km from here, would change Rajasthan, which is otherwise known as the desert land.

Along with this a new era of prosperity would begin in the backward areas of western Rajasthan, she added.

She was speaking in New Delhi Tuesday evening at the loan contract function of the $1 billion loan taken by the Cairns Energy, a Scottish company from the International Syndicate Bank Group for the development of oil areas in Rajasthan.

The Union Petroleum Minister Murli Devra and Rajasthan Minister for Mines and Petroleum Laxmi Narain Dave were also present on the occasion.

Raje claimed that this was the biggest oil reserve found in the country after 22 years and it was counted among the first hundred oil reserve areas of the world.

"Cairns Energy has achieved this distinction by digging 125 wells in 17 oil areas in Barmer district in the last two and half years," the chief minister said.

"Over 3.5 billion barrel oil reserves are expected in Barmer and Cairns Energy would probably start production in two oil areas from October this year," Raje added.

She said that the petroleum sector would become an important source of revenue and also help the growth of the state in the coming years.

The chief minister expressed the hope that the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) would soon set up oil refinery in Barmer, which would open avenues for investment in the area and industrial units based on petroleum.

Expressing gratitude to Cairns Energy for making arrangements of funds in a short period for the development of oil areas in the state and the union government for continuing exploration of oil wells further even after six years, Raje defined the function as an historic event.

She assured that the state government would always be ready to provide every cooperation to the Scottish company.