The Board of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is being revamped by merging two directorships into one and creating a new position of director for corporate affairs in an attempt to breathe fresh life into the state-owned behemoth that is increasingly looking beyond oil and gas, sources said.

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The ONGC Board presently has six directors for exploration, onshore operations, offshore operations, finance, human resources, and technical and field services. It used to be headed by a chairman and managing director.

The government earlier this month appointed Arun Kumar Singh, who had recently retired as head of oil refining and fuel marketing company BPCL, as the chairman of ONGC, but not as its managing director.

While this is the first instance of a 60-year-old retired person being appointed as the head of a bluechip state-owned firm, the government also initiated a board revamp.

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A post of Director (Production) has been created after merging Director (Onshore), who is in charge of all oil and gas fields located on land, and Director (Offshore) who looks after all offshore assets such as the prime Mumbai High fields, two sources aware of the matter said. A new position of Director (Strategy & Corporate Affairs) has also been created.

The post of Director (Production) will come into effect from March 1, 2023 after Director (Onshore) Anurag Sharma superannuates on February 28, 2023. The job is likely to go to Pankaj Kumar, Director (Offshore).

The new Director (Strategy & Corporate Affairs) is likely to look after information technology, communication services, safety, occupational health, environment, business development, joint ventures and marketing after a rejig of workforce between the different functions happens, the sources said.

The jobs that the new position will handle are currently rotated among directors. For instance, marketing is with the Director (Onshore).

Also read: Retired BPCL head Arun Kumar Singh appointed ONGC chairman for 3 years

Sources said the idea behind the board revamp is to bring greater synergies in operations and allow focussed attention on oil and gas production with a single director responsible for all fields.

The revamp is on lines of the Organisation Transformation Project (OTP) suggested by consulting firm McKinsey.

Most of the present board-level positions were created in 2001 under a McKinsey OTP plan. McKinsey’s OTP was initiated in 2000 by then ONGC chairman and managing director Bikash Bora and implemented despite resistance from within the company, by his successor (late) Subir Raha, who renamed OTP as the Corporate Rejuvenation Campaign (CRC).

The second phase of McKinsey’s recommendations are being implemented now, sources said, adding the company management has been discussing the board-level revamp with the parent administrative ministry of petroleum and natural gas since mid-2021.

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