Capricorn Energy plc (formerly Cairn Energy plc) is a British oil and gas exploration and development company based in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
History
The company was founded in 1981 by Sir Bill Gammell, the former international Rugby player, his father James (Jimmy), his brother Pete and others, as Cairn Energy. Its initial operations were in the USA and, following its listing on the London Stock Exchange in 1988, it expanded into the UK North Sea and internationally (Papua New Guinea, Spain, Vietnam, China and Australia). The company acquired Conoco's UK onshore acreage in 1988 and became one of the largest operators of UK onshore oil production with the Palmers Wood oil field just south of London, near Junction 6 of the M25,[2] and at Humbly Grove (near Basingstoke).[3]
The company expansion started with a substantial (non-operated) gas discovery (East Cameron 331) Bangladesh near Chittagong