Two Oil India directors in fray among three for DGH top post

New Delhi: At least three people, including Oil India Ltd, Director (Exploration and Development) BN Talukdar, are in the race to head upstream oil regulatory body – Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, or DGH.

Besides Talukar, OIL, Director (Human Resources and Business Development) Nripendra Kumar Bharali and Gujarat State Petroleum Corp. Ltd (GSPC) Director (Operations) Samir Biswal have applied for the job of Director General of the DGH, industry sources said.[caption id=“attachment_862481” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] India to select new petroleum sector regulator. Reuters [/caption]

A year after a bureaucrat was appointed DGH, the petroleum ministry wants the agency to be headed by technocrat and had in invited applications for the job of DG, DGH. Applications closed on 31 May.

Sources said a search committee is likely to be formed to scrutinise applications and interview applicants.

The ministry wants an engineer or geo-scientist with 25 years of experience in upstream oil and gas sector to replace Rajiv Nayan Choubey as the Director General of the DGH.

The government had in June last year appointed Choubey, a 1981 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, as DGH.

The appointment of a bureaucrat as the head of the highly technical arm of the petroleum ministry had raised eyebrows then as it was not clear how the selection was made without the post being advertised. There was also no selection panel formed to choose among eligible candidates, it was pointed out.

Talukdar, 58, a petroleum engineer, currently heads OIL’s exploration, development, reservoir management and drilling activities and is closely associated with the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and Society of Petroleum Geophysicists.

An IIM-Ahmedabad pass-out, Bharali, 57, has over two and half decades of experience in petroleum exploration and production industry.

The term of DG, DGH will be for five years or till the incumbent completes the age of superannuation of 60 years, whichever is earlier, they said.

Choubey, a post-graduate in physics, was development commissioner (handlooms) in the Ministry of Textiles before becoming DG, DGH.

He was appointed head of DGH after the then DG, DGH, SK Srivastava moved to Oil India Ltd as the chairman and managing director.

Srivastava, who was director (operations) at Oil India in 2009, was made the temporary head of DGH to replace the controversial VK Sibal, in October 2009. He was formally appointed DG, DGH in February, 2010. Prior to his temporary charge, he was deputy, DG, DGH under Sibal.

PTI