Essar Exploration & Production Ltd. (EEPL), part of Essar Global Limited, has commenced work on its three onshore exploration blocks in Madagascar with the commissioning of airborne survey. EEPL has appointed Fugro Airborne Services Limited, Mauritius to acquire 12,000 kilometres of airborne Gravity & Magnetic data in these blocks over the next 6-8 weeks.

This will enable EEPL to interpret the sub-surface geology in the area. Fugro is the market leader in this specialized field and have successfully conducted similar surveys in Madagascar. This is the largest ever Air borne Survey in Madagascar for Oil & Gas exploration by any operator.

The survey was launched from the Fugro base in Tolagnaro on June 26th 2008 to coincide with “Independence Day” of Madagascar to pledge its support to not only reach self sufficiency in Petroleum products, but also export to neighbouring countries.

EEPL had won three blocks covering 30,000 square kilometres in the Morondava basin through the open bidding round.

The work programme for the three blocks, in which Essar has 100% Participating Interest, includes Reprocessing of 2D-Seismic data (which has already been completed), Airborne Gravity & Magnetic Survey, 2D / 3D Seismic data API and Drilling of wells in the First phase as jointly agreed with OMNIS for which EEPL has planned an investment of USD 15 million.

Essar’s Construction division was recently awarded a USD 56 million nickel slurry pipeline project in Madagascar, to be executed within a challenging time period of 13 months. The pipeline will transport nickel ore in the slurry form from Ambatovy Nickel Cobalt Mining Ore to the port of Taomasina from where it will be exported.

The Essar Group is also exploring several other business opportunities in Madagascar and is keen on increasing their presence in the country.

About Essar Global
Essar Global Limited (EGL) is a diversified corporate group with businesses in the manufacturing and services sectors of Steel, Energy, Power, Telecommunications, Shipping, Ports & Logistics, Mining & Mineral Resources, and Construction. EGL has a firm value of approximately USD 50 billion and employs 38,000 people worldwide. More than 15 percent of Essar’s workforce is in the Americas.

Privately owned and professionally managed, EGL has an excellent track record, having succeeded in the capital intensive and competitive manufacturing sectors. Better focus through integration, incorporation of state-of-the-art technology and innovative in-house research has made Essar Global a leading player in each of its businesses.

Essar Energy operates a fully integrated oil company of international size and scale in India. Its assets include development rights in proven oil & gas blocks. Its assets include onshore and offshore Exploration and Production blocks in India, Vietnam, Madagascar and Nigeria, a 12 million tons per annum refinery, currently being expanded to 34 million tons per annum, and over 1,500 fuel stations across India. Plans are under way to increase exploration acreage, further acquire / build oil refineries internationally, and open a total of 5,000 fuel stations.

Essar Telecommunications is the single largest investor (with a 33% interest) in Vodafone-Essar, a joint venture with Vodafone Group and one of India’s largest cellular service providers, with 46 million subscribers, currently adding 2 million subscribers every month. Essar owns ‘The MobileStore’, India's largest national retail chain of mobile phone stores. Essar has a major presence in the telecom infrastructure space with one of the largest investments in tower companies. Essar operates India’s 4th largest business process outsourcing business operating under the Aegis brand, with 20 centers spread across USA and India staffed by over 20,000 employees.

Essar Steel is a global producer of steel operating out of India, North America, the Middle East and Asia. It is a fully integrated flat carbon steel manufacturer - from iron ore to ready-to-market products. It has a current capacity of 8.5 million tons. With Essar’s expansion in India, Asia and North America, capacity is expected to rise to about 20 million tons by 2012. Essar successfully acquired Algoma Steel in Sault Ste Marie, Canada, in 2007, where following a capital expenditure program and incorporating improved work processes, it has increased production from 2.5 MTPA to 3.4 MTPA in just 10 months.

Essar Power operates five power generation plants with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts. Its portfolio includes gas and coal fired plants and renewable energy sources. Essar is currently increasing its generation capacity to 6000 MW of coal and gas fuelled plants, with an investment of approximately USD 5 billion. It also plans to enter the power transmission and distribution markets.

Essar Ports, Shipping & Logistics is a comprehensive, end-to-end player in maritime transportation, ports and terminals, logistics, contract drilling and allied services. It is a global shipping and logistics provider with sea and surface transportation services, oilfield drilling services, dry and liquid terminals, tankage and associated pipelines.

Essar Projects is a global engineering procurement and construction company based in Dubai with offices in India and China. The Essar Engineering Center specialises in detailed engineering and design for large projects. Global Supplies specialises in procurement. Construction executes projects for industrial plants, civil & irrigation projects, pipe laying – both offshore and onshore, marine construction and highways and expressways. Heavy Engineering Services manufactures pressure vessels, reactors, vacuum vessels and cranes. Essar Constructions undertakes projects on a turnkey basis, with a pipeline division certified at ISO 9001.

Essar Mining & Minerals owns iron ore and coal mines in India and overseas. It has acquired the U.S. based Minnesota Steel that has iron ore reserves of approximately 1.5 billion tons.

For more information, please contact
Manish Kedia, Sr. Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Essar, India at +91 98197 30092 mkedia@essar.com
B Ganesh Pai, General Manager, Corporate Communications, Essar, India at +91 98197 30225 gpai@essar.com
Mohan Nair, General Manager, Essar Shipping, India at +91 98339 45779 m_nair@essar.com
Parikshit Kaul, Deputy General Manager, Essar, New Delhi, at +91 98735 70816 pkaul@essar.com
William Clutterbuck, Maitland, UK at +44 20 7379 5151 wclutterbuck@maitland.co.uk