Tullow Oil appoints Rahul Dhir as CEO

Rahul Dhir, the former Cairn India chief executive who had secured a USD 600 million funding from Warburg Pincus for his Africa-focused oil firm, was on Tuesday appointed the CEO of Tullow Oil Plc.

In a statement, Tullow said Dhir will take over as the company's chief executive officer and executive director of the group from July 1.

Dhir is credited with helping Cairn India, the firm that gave the country its biggest onland oil discovery, successfully list on bourses. He quit the company company in August 2012 to put together a new Africa-focused oil and gas explorer, Delonex Energy.

In June 2013, Delonex announced that it had secured USD 600 million capital from an investor consortium led by private equity firm Warburg Pincus.

 

Delonex acquired a few exploration blocks in Central and East Africa but Dhir could not replicate the success of Cairn.

It was not clear what will be the fate of Delonex. The company website was down and Dhir could not be reached for comments.

No announcement of his resignation from Delonex has been made public yet. "Rahul brings extensive leadership experience in oil and gas to Tullow. He is currently CEO of Delonex Energy, an Africa-focused oil and gas company that he founded in 2013," Tullow said in the statement. "Under his leadership, Delonex has delivered low-cost drilling and seismic operations along with leading social and environmental performance in sub-Saharan Africa."

In Chad, Delonex has achieved material exploration success and discovered substantial oil resources. It has also delivered exploration campaigns in Ethiopia and Kenya where Delonex operates Block 12A with Tullow as a non-operating partner.

"Prior tlishing Delonex, Rahul served as Managing Director and CEO of Cairn India from its IPO in 2006 until 2012," the statement said.

During Rahul's tenure, Cairn India delivered operated production of over 200,000 barrels of oil per day with operating costs of less than USD 5 per barrel of oil. Cairn India also successfully delivered over USD 5 billion of development projects including the world's longest heated pipeline at a finding and development cost of less than USD 5 per barrel of oil.

Dhir started his career as a Petroleum Engineer, before moving into investment banking where he led teams at Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch, advising major oil & gas companies on merger and acquisition and capital market related issues.

He is a UK citizen and was educated at the Indian Institute of Technology (BTech), the University of Texas (MSc) and the Wharton School (MBA).

Dorothy Thompson, Executive Chair of Tullow Oil Plc, commented: "I am delighted to welcome Rahul to Tullow and am very pleased that he has accepted the position of CEO. His oil & gas, financial and African experience combined with his record of strong leadership made him the stand-out candidate for the Board."

Dhir said: "I am very excited at the opportunity to lead Tullow and re-establish it as an iconic company in our industry. The company has high-quality assets and great people. It also has a unique position in Africa, built on a proven track record of responsible operations, strong relationships and a commitment to sustainability. I am looking forward to working with the team and the Board to re-build an exceptional business.