The government is forming a panel to hunt for the ONGC chairman

FILE PHOTO: Oil and Natural Gas Corp’s (ONGC) logo is pictured along a road in Ahmedabad, India, September 6, 2016. Photo taken September 6, 2016. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo | Photo credit: AMIT DAVE

The selected candidate will replace the incumbent chairman Arun Kumar Singh, whose term has been extended by one year.

“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposals of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) for reinstatement of Singh as Chairman of ONGC, on a contractual basis for a further period of one year with effect from December 7, or until the post is taken over by the regular incumbent, or further orders, whichever is earlier, on the terms and conditions to be finalized by the Ministry in consultation with the Ministry of Public Enterprises,” an official said command, seen by business linesaid.

The ACC also approved the formation of the “Search-cum-Selection Committee (SCSC)” for the purpose of identification and selection of a regular ONGC chairman, it added.

The three-member panel includes oil secretary and B Ashok, former chairman of Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL).

In March 2025, the PESB invited applications from qualified candidates for the post of ONGC Chairman with a pay scale of ₹2,00,000-3,70,000.

In December 2022, the government appointed Arun Kumar Singh, the former CMD of Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), as chairman of the Maharatna company for a term of three years from the date of taking charge.

Singh’s name was finalized through a Search-cum-Selection Committee (SCSC) that was constituted in February 2022. Under him, the E&P giant has aggressively tried to stem the decline in oil and gas production from mature fields like Mumbai High.

Under Singh, ONGC is working with BP to ramp up production of oil and gas from Mumbai High. In January 2025, ONGC announced that it had selected BP Exploration (Alpha), a British subsidiary of BP Plc, as the technical service provider (TSP) for Mumbai High, which was marred by a decline in crude oil production.

Located in the offshore area of ​​Mumbai, Mumbai High (MH) was discovered by ONGC in 1974 and started production in 1976. It accounts for approximately one-third of India’s cumulative oil production.

On increased oil production, ONGC had said in a January 2025 BSE filing that the TSP has indicated a substantial increase in O+OEG production (up to 60 percent) over baseline production levels (reputation, third-party audited production estimates with natural decline) over a contract period of ten years.

Published on December 3, 2025