Essar Oil and Gas Exploration and Production (EOGEPL) has announced that its board has appointed Santosh Chandra, a veteran in global upstream industry as the company's Chief Executive Officer.
EOGEPL, an investee company of Essar Capital and is India's largest operator of unconventional hydrocarbon acreages. Essar Capital’s investments in EOGEPL are a part of its investment portfolio in exploration and production businesses which are increasingly focussed on clean fuels. The coal bed methane (CBM) gas is widely seen as the fuel of this century.
Chandra, a seasoned professional with over 30 years of experience, has an impressive record in the oil and gas E&P ranging from a start-up and remote field operations to full field development across onshore, offshore and deep-water settings. In his current role, he will be spearheading EOGEPL's exploration and production business to a higher growth trajectory and valuation by designing and implementing a strategic business plan given that CBM gas is the fuel of this century and is high on demand as a clean fuel.
An alumni of Duke University and Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, Chandra started his career with ONGC and has been previously associated with Cairn Energy India in various leadership roles. Prior to joining Essar, he was the Head of Development - Uganda at Tullow Oil Plc, one of the largest independent oil and gas companies in the UK.
Commenting on the appointment, B C Tripathi, Non-executive Chairman, Essar Exploration & Production Mauritius, "We welcome Chandra to the Essar family and firmly believe that he will usher in a wave of superior growth in our CBM business and take it to new highs, which is at the cusp of being commissioned and change the entire socio-economic fabric of the eastern region of India. His capabilities are unmatched when it comes to natural resources and we are very proud to have him onboard."
"I am very excited to be part of Essar's new investment-led growth journey and look forward to be a significant contributor towards energy needs of our country. Oil and gas production,especially that of coal bed methane, is not only Essar's priority but also of national importance as we strive towards becoming "Atmanirbhar Bharat" in many years to come. I am confident that our coal seam gas will emerge as a game changer in the entire eastern region soon as the Ganga Urja pipeline to Durgapur is commissioned," said Chandra, CEO, EOGEPL.
