Cairn India has started additional exploration for oil at its operational field in Barmer in the western Indian state of Rajasthan.

The company has started drilling for finding new reserves at the site with an aim to increase production to 215,000 barrels per day by March, 2014. The company has become the first to begin additional exploration on an existing producing field after the union oil ministry in India allowed companies to carry on exploration on existing oil fields at their own cost.

Cairn is currently producing about 175,000 bpd from the field in Barmer and it is aiming to increase production to the level of 200,000-215,000 bpd output by 2013-14. The company is planning to build three exploration wells during this fiscal and will invest about $15 million in the project. It further plans to drill 30 exploration wells by March 2014 and another 30 in 2015.

"Renewed exploration activity in the block will help us realize the estimated half a billion barrels of oil equivalent of risked recoverable prospective resource which amounts to about a third of the estimated ultimate recovery potential in the Rajasthan block.. This will help realize the basin production potential of 300,000 bpd from the Rajasthan block," the company said in a statement on Monday.

A committee headed by the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons had allowed companies to drill on existing oil producing fields in February.