<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><root available-locales="en_US," default-locale="en_US"><static-content language-id="en_US"><![CDATA[<p>British oil firm Cairn Energy said it was focussing on concluding a long running deal to sell a stake in its Indian unit to Vedanta, but was also looking at opportunities to explore for oil and gas in Lebanon.<br><br>"Cairn is encouraged that the Vedanta transaction is moving towards completion," said the company in a statement alongside its interim results on Tuesday.<br><br>"The conclusion of the Vedanta transaction in the coming months is a key focus for the group."<br><br>In June, India granted conditional approval for Vedanta to buy a stake in Cairn India in a $6 billion deal that was first announced in August 2010.<br><br>The parties are currently working to satisfy the conditions for the deal to complete, said Cairn.<br><br>Part of the cash returned from the Indian transaction could be used to fund exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean where Cairn said it has teamed up with a Lebanese private company and UK-based explorer Cove Energy.<br><br>The company said it wanted to participate in a licencing round in Lebanon, expanding its reach to a new frontier basin.<br><br>Cairn also plans to spend $600 million in Greenland this year drilling up to four wells in its attempt to open up a new oil province, but has so far had little success in the Arctic territory.<br><br>The company said it had cash of around $1 billion on June 30, with a production of around 167,000 barrels of oil in the first half, and revenues of $1.3 billion.<br><br>Shares in Cairn, which have fallen 26 per cent in the last month, closed at 289.7 pence on Monday, valuing the company at around 4 billion pounds ($6.6 billion).<br><br><br>(Reuters)</p>