Mumbai High to get new ONGC boss in June

ONGC-operated Mumbai High - India’s biggest offshore oil and gasfield - gets a new head in June after executive director PK Dileep retires on May 31, aged 60.

If seniority is key, then executive director Arvind Morbale, head of the eastern offshore asset which includes KG-DWN-98/2 - should succeed Dileep. But with the government determined to produce first 98/2 gas from December 2019, Morbale is unlikely to be transferred.

Next in line is executive director TK Banerjee, head of the BASSEIN & Satellite fields. Banerjee also holds temporary charge of the NEELAM and HEERA fields after executive director Alok Nandan retired on December 31.

Some believe ONGC chairman Shashi Shanker wants an officer from ONGC’s drilling division to head MUMBAI HIGH. With a drilling background himself, Shanker wants drillers to head ONGC’s producing assets, says a source.

Others counter it is too early to draw conclusions. "Let’s wait for the (annual ONGC) promotion list to be declared," says a source.

Usually this list is published on January 1 but the deadline has been missed for the past two years and this year's list is expected end-February or early March.