ONGC set to go for corporate overhaul

Separate vice-chairmen for domestic and overseas ops.

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is set to go in for corporate restructuring on lines of the recommendations made by the Synergy in Energy Committee headed by V Krishnamurthy.

"The new structure will entail two separate vice-chairmen to look after the domestic and overseas business," Subir Raha, the ONGC chairman told reporters here. He added that the ministry of petroleum had been informed about the ONGC's decision to implement the recommendations of the committee.

Under the plan, the ONGC chairman will have two VCs under him. While one will be in charge of the firm's core exploration and production business, the other vice-chairman will head the ONGC Videsh Ltd.

Both the VCs will be assisted by presidents or directors responsible for finance, exploration, projects and human resources reporting to them, Raha said. Sources added that it was possible that the present managing director of OVL might be promoted to the post of vice-president.

Under the new corporate structure, ONGC's subsidiary MRPL would continue to have a managing director directly reporting to the chairman. Raha said the new structure would help the chairman shed some of his workload. Currently, the chairman presides over all domestic exploration and production, overseas as well as new area projects.

The sources added that the company proposed to set up a corporate executive committee (CEC) for corporate business planning, resource allocation and management interface. The CEC will comprise the chairman, two vice-chairmen, functional directors, besides a nominee director each from petroleum ministry and finance ministry and six independent directors.

Raha said the restructuring was important as the company was growing rapidly. ONGC has ambitious plans to venture into oil refining by building refineries at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, Barmer in Rajasthan and Mangalore in Karnataka.

The company will also look at petrochemical business in Mangalore and Dahej in Gujarat, LNG import and shipping through a terminal at Mangalore and power generation by building plants at Mangalore and Tripura.

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Divide and rule

Restructuring as per recommendations of the Synergy in Energy Committee headed by V Krishnamurthy

Both V-Cs will be assisted by presidents or directors responsible for finance, exploration, projects and human resources reporting to them

Present managing director of OVL might be promoted to the post of vice-president