FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                8 August 2017

CAIRN ENERGY PLC ("Cairn" or "the Company")

Interests of Person Discharging Managerial Responsibility ("PDMR")

in the Company's Shares

1.         Purchase of Partnership Shares / Award of Matching Shares under the Company's 2010 Share Incentive Plan (the "SIP")

Cairn announces that, on 7 August 2017, the trustee (the "Trustee") of the Company's HMRC approved all-employee SIP purchased ordinary shares of 231/169 pence each in the Company ("Ordinary Shares") in the market at a price of £1.708 per Ordinary Share on behalf of the participants below in the "Partnership Share" element of the SIP using a deduction made from their gross salary.

Cairn also announces that, on 7 August 2017, an award of further Ordinary Shares was made to the participant below under the "Matching Share" element of the SIP on the basis of two free Matching Shares for every one Partnership Share purchased. The Ordinary Shares used to satisfy this award were existing shares previously purchased in the market.

Details of the PDMRs who participated in the purchase / award are as follows:

In accordance with the rules of the SIP, Partnership and Matching Shares are initially held by the Trustee on the participant's behalf and, in the case of Matching Shares, must normally remain so held throughout a period of five years from the date of award. 

2.         Summary of current holdings of PDMR

Following this announcement, the PDMRs' beneficial interest in the Shares of the Company are as follows:

* This column includes all outstanding Awards that have vested following the expiry of the applicable performance period, regardless of whether or not they are currently capable of being exercised under the rules of the applicable LTIP.

The following notifications are intended to satisfy the Company's obligations under Article 19(3) of EU Regulation No 596/2014 (the Market Abuse Regulation).