EOGEPL today said that they have further strengthened their Board by appointing experts and experienced hydrocarbon professionals as Directors to provide support and guidance in line with the company’s clean fuel based growth strategy.
Mumbai, 24th September 2021: Essar Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Ltd (EOGEPL) today said that they have further strengthened their Board by appointing experts and experienced hydrocarbon professionals as Directors to provide support and guidance in line with the company’s clean fuel based growth strategy. EOGEPL, an investee company of Essar Global Fund (EGFL), is India's largest operator of unconventional hydrocarbon acreages.
The new members welcomed into the EOGEPL Board are Mr. Prashant Ruia, Director - Essar Capital, Mr. Jonathan R. Kelafant, Vice President with Advanced Resources International, Inc., one of the renowned UHC asset advisory companies in the world, Mr. Charles Boyer- stalwart in Schlumberger UHC consulting field with deep knowledge of UHC project implementation and sustenance and Mr. Sunil Jain, veteran in the renewable energy sector. All the new members come with experience between 25-35 years.
Commenting on the appointment, on behalf of the Essar Capital Board, Mr. B.C. Tripathi, Director, commented, “We are constantly making efforts to increase confidence amongst our stakeholders, thus the appointment of esteemed veterans of the industry onto our board will further bolster the updates we have made to our corporate governance. EOGEPL has been a pioneer of UHC in India with more than 20 years of experience. These appointments will further enhance our overall governance and risk assessment processes, as well as providing insights and value addition towards the business as it continues its transition to low carbon operations. We welcome all the new members and await to witness the novelty they will bring to the table”.
Essar Capital is the investment manager of EGFL, and EOGEPL is part of its investment focus in exploration and production businesses, which are increasingly focused on clean fuels. With the coal bed methane (CBM) gas being widely seen as the fuel of this century, EOGEPL is proud to be a part of the efforts to take the Nation towards a gas-based economy through its increasing gas production.
India continues to be a net hydrocarbon import dependent country and thus alongside imports of Natural Gas the ramping-up of domestic production is very important towards ‘’AtmaNirbhar Bharat’’. It is perceived that Unconventional Hydrocarbon (UHC) resources will play a crucial role in domestic gas securitization.
About EOGEPL
EOGEPL is one of the largest E&P companies in India primarily focused in the domain of Unconventional Hydrocarbons (UHC) having a resource base of 15 TCF (Trillion Cubic Feet) CBM and shale resources. EOGEPL has so far invested in excess of Rs. 4,000 Crores in exploration to commercial development of the Raniganj CBM Block. The company is a pioneer of Unconventional HC in India with about 25 years of experience in E&P of CBM. EOGEPL’s Raniganj CBM Block is the first CBM Project in India to cross the threshold of 1.0 million cubic metres of gas production. As on date the project is commissioned with 348 wells and a state-of-art indigenous infrastructure facilities.
About Essar Capital
Essar Capital Limited (“Essar Capital”) is the investment manager of Essar Global Fund Limited (“EGFL”). It monitors and manages the entire portfolio of investments owned by EGFL.
EGFL is a global investor, owning a number of world-class assets diversified across the core sectors of Energy (comprising Exploration & Production, Refining & Marketing and Power businesses), Infrastructure (comprising Ports, Projects and Stanlow Terminals), Metals & Mining, Services & Technology (comprising Shipping, Oilfield services, Technology Solutions, Device protection and Customer experience). EGFL invests long-term capital into the portfolio companies and holds near 100% stake in all its investments. EGFL invests with a sense of active ownership, which involves direct engagement with the management of the respective businesses. The portfolio companies have aggregate revenues of about USD 14 billion and employ over 7,000 people.
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EOGEPL Board Composition
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Mr. K N Venkatasubramanian Independent Director Mr. K N Venkatasubramanian is a Chemical Engineer from A.C. College of Technology, Chennai and M.Tech from IIT, Kharagpur. He has over 55 years of experience in the oil & gas and petrochemicals sectors having worked as Director, Marketing and Director, Operations of IPCL, Chairman and Managing Director of Engineers India Ltd., Chairman and Managing Director of IOCL and as Chairman of Gulf Oil Ltd. |
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Mr. Rajkumar Sukhdevsinhji Independent Director R.K. Sukhdevsinhji, graduated from St. Stephens College, Delhi, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics joined Burmah Shell in 1957 in the All India Executive Cadre. He held key positions in Marketing as Divisional Manager in Bombay, Delhi, and Ahmedabad etc. and later took over as All India Lubricants Logistics Manager, followed by a stint as Manager, Bulk Products in the Chief Executive Office, responsible for crude and product supplies imports. He joined the Essar Group as Managing Director of Essar Oil and initiated the Essar Refinery Project at Vadinar and the successful IPO to launch the initiative. Upon completion of his tenure as MD he took over as Group President Corporate Affairs and Advisor Oil for ESSAR |
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Mr. Pankaj Kalra Whole-time Director Mr Kalra has 22 years of experience and a demonstrated track record of working across multiple sectors. His functional skill set includes expertise in M&A, fundraising (both onshore and offshore), accounting, internal controls, procurement and financial modelling. Prior to joining Essar, he was the CFO of Cairn Oil & Gas, and has been associated with Reliance, Aircel, Idea, American Tower and EY. Mr Kalra is a rank holder Chartered Accountant and a Company Secretary, with a bachelor’s degree in commerce from Sri Ram College of Commerce. |
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Mr. Prashant Ruia Non-Executive Director Mr. Prashant Ruia, is a member of the Board of Essar Capital Ltd & Essar Exploration and Production Limited and Chairman of the Board of Essar Oil UK Ltd. He is a part of the second generation of the Ruia family that founded Essar. Essar was founded in 1969 by his father Shashi Ruia and uncle Ravi Ruia. Prashant has been an integral part of EGFL’s operations and management since 1985 and has been a key driver of the Fund’s growth, diversification and value creation both within India and internationally. He is respected for his project execution skills, financial expertise and people management capabilities. |
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Mr. Jonathan R. Kelafant Non-Executive Director Mr. Jonathan R. Kelafant is a Vice President with Advanced Resources International, Inc. He has over 25 of years of experience in natural gas resource recovery and assessment in over 20 countries including Australia, Botswana, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Germany, India, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Mozambique, Poland, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine and Zimbabwe. He manages domestic and international energy projects with a primary emphasis on the technical assessment and development of gas resources. Responsibilities include new business development, contract negotiation, scheduling and management of field operations, geologic analysis, and feasibility study development. Projects range from short-term reserve assessments for domestic and overseas production companies (ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco, Shell, BP Amoco, etc.) to managing full scale field development programs. He has worked extensively in Ukraine and neighboring countries on unconventional gas projects including shale gas and Coal Bed Methane for more than a decade. Mr. Kelafant holds a M.Sc. in Geology from George Washington University and a B.Sc. in Geology from Washington and Lee University. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists |
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Mr. Charles Boyer Non-Executive Director Mr. Boyer has both US and global experience in unconventional reservoirs (shale oil/gas, coal-bed methane, tight sands) and gas storage in over 35 countries on 6 continents. Mr. Boyer has experience of over 35 years of successful marketing, contract procurement, and project management for the public and private sector. He has demonstrated ability in P&L and personnel management with excellent verbal and communication skills. Mr. Boyer has around two decade of experience with Schlumberger. Prior to that he was associated with Northeast Basin as Business Manager and Advisor- Unconventional and with Pittsburgh Consulting Services as Operational Manager- Unconventional Reservoirs |
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Mr. Sunil Jain Non-Executive Director Mr. Jain, is a veteran in renewable energy sector. He was the CEO & Executive Director of Hero Future Energies Pvt Ltd. Mr. Jain brings over more than three decades of experience. He is currently the president of the Indian American Chamber of Commerce, Northern region council and chairman of Indian Renewable Energy Alliance (IREA). |