Compliance

Cairn's integrated internal control and assurance framework, overseen by the Cairn Board, plays a critical role in managing the economic, environmental and social risks associated with the achievement of our corporate vision, strategy and objectives. It is also central to safeguarding shareholders' interests and Company assets.

This framework provides for assurance against the risks associated with compliance with Group CR Policies and Guiding Principles at three levels:

• At an operational level, embedded specialist HSE personnel are responsible for developing and implementing Asset CR plans.
• Second-level assurance is provided by the Group Head of HSE, Risk & Compliance. Board Committees, in particular the Audit and Risk Management Committees, also provide oversight of the management of business risks, including CR risks.
• Internal, external or joint venture reviews and audits by independent parties provide the third level of assurance, which includes:
  • peer reviews by independent specialists at key stages in a project, such as the Project Safety Review conducted prior to the commissioning of the first Mangala process train in Rajasthan, India;
  • external verification against international standards, such as the ISO 14001 certification at our producing sites in Bangladesh (Sangu) and India (Suvali and Ravva);
  • Government or regulatory audits or inspections, which are regularly conducted at our construction and producing sites in India;
  • bank surveillance audits, including four environmental and social audits completed on the MPT and pipeline projects by an independent consultancy on behalf of the IFC since November 2008; and
  • audits conducted by the Internal Auditor. An internal audit of the Group CR Management System is planned in 2010.