Cairn on the hunt for new opportunities

Cairn Energy is to spend some of its $1.2bn (£756m) cash pile finding new projects to balance its exposure to oil exploration in Greenland. The oil group, which unveiled pre-tax profits of $4.6bn for 2011 yesterday, accumulated the cash after it sold out of its vast Indian business last year, leaving its main assets in Greenland.

Its chief executive Simon Thomson, however, declined to say whether Cairn could team up with Rockhopper, which is looking for a partner in the Falklands.