Earlier today, the 19 th of July 2022, the order from our administrative ministry, MoPNG was
received entrusting me with the responsibility of Managing Director, ONGC Videsh Limited,
based on which I have joined in this position. I would sincerely like to thank MoPNG as well
as the Government of India for reposing their faith in me for this appointment. It is truly
humbling and a real honor to head an organization which has such a rich legacy left by its
inspirational leaders, yet in the real sense is also fairly young. ONGC Videsh has been truly
blessed to have had such selfless and visionary leadership in the past, which enabled its
rapid and sustained growth. It would be my endeavor to live up to these high standards for
the future, as the best way of paying tribute to our founding and past leadership.
Today as I assume the charge of Managing Director there is a distinct feeling of
homecoming. Having spent 13 years in ONGC Videsh during its golden growth period, I
sincerely believe that this company has proven itself in the international arena by growing
rapidly from a fledgling company to one of repute and with material presence in various
geographies.
However, the success did not come cheap or easily – it involved diligence, effort, sweat, and
sacrifices from everyone in the company. ONGC Videsh was always meant to be run as a
lean organization; nimble footed and adept to change. We cannot and should not be
unwieldy in our process and systems as we need to compete and succeed in the fiercely
competitive global arena.
Today to say that ONGC Videsh is facing challenging times would be an understatement.
Both at the macro-industry and company level, we are impacted by challenges hitherto
unprecedented in our history. Even as the world is recovering from the black swan
pandemic event and the economic upheaval that it brought in its wake, the geopolitical
turmoil in recent months has again thrown the global economy into uncharted waters.
These changes in the world order are being manifested even more in the oil and gas
industry. The climate-change and ESG headwinds being faced for some time now, coupled
with the geopolitical disruptions have brought to fore the primacy of fossil fuels in the
energy mix, as also the urgent need to find sustainable solutions that do not deprive the
needy populations of access to cheap energy. From an Indian standpoint, as an economy on
the fast track to becoming a global economic superpower, energy access and affordability
will be key parameters to ensure the growth story, as energy consumption per capita
continues to be less than half of the developed world. ONGC Videsh, as per its mandate and
its vision, has a key role to play in this growth story.
As the recent events are playing out, several of our projects across geographies are faced
with tough geopolitical challenges and as a result have brought our company to a difficult
situation. While we have witnessed a drop in production year-on-year for the past three
years, with recent developments we are now witnessing one of our substantial production
and revenue generating projects going offline, with lack of visibility in its resumption. The
assets not affected by turmoil are battling diverse situations ranging from local challenges
to floods to license expiry and OPEC restrictions. Without mincing words, I would say that
we are faced with one of the most challenging times in the company’s history, since the
turn-of-the-millennium situation where we had nil production and the company struggled
to meet its obligations.
There has been a dearth of inorganic growth through M&A in the past few years, which has
been a tool deployed successfully by the company in the past to ensure sustained growth.
This has compounded the problem of declining production from ageing and depleting fields
and with few quality projects available for acquisition to fill the gap. Moments of flux and
deep uncertainties as we are presently faced with, do also throw up unexpected
opportunities and we need to be exceedingly alert to them and very efficient to convert the
opportunity into an acquisition.
Suffice to say, the time for complacency and business-as-usual is gone. Each and every
employee of ONGC Videsh has to now contribute over and above the call of duty to ensure
that we tide over these difficult times. The two years of the pandemic has perhaps brought
about a certain degree of lassitude in commitment, and it is manifest in the work culture
where adherence to punctuality and work timelines has at times been affected. The
immediate challenges we are facing does not provide management the headroom to
overlook such actions, and I would request you to treat the above statement with the
seriousness it deserves.
While the above picture though true may seem daunting , I am convinced that if each one of
us gears up to put their best foot forward every day in every job, then we shall not only be
able to overcome these hurdles but also be able to rediscover our winning mojo and
embark on the next period of disruptive growth.
Everyone is welcome to provide their ideas on any aspect of the business that can add
value, and my doors will always remain open.
We have a new and very competent Executive Committee and let us work collectively to
take our company to greater heights.
My wife Gitanjali and daughter Aaradhana join me in wishing the very best to you and your
near and dear ones.