Financial wizard Sarraf takes charge of energy titan ONGC
2 March 2014 11:13 PM GMT
Prior to this, Sarraf, 56, was managing director of ONGC’s overseas arm, ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL). On Friday he drove down to ONGC’s corporate office here to greet outgoing Chairman Vasudeva at the close of office hours, said sources. He warmly hugged Vasudeva and escorted him to his car. Sarraf officially took charge of the company on Saturday morning.
Coming from a humble background, Sarraf took tuitions to help finance his commerce studies at the University of Delhi. Besides holding a master’s degree in commerce, he is a member of the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India (ICWAI) and the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI). Sarraf’s 30 years of experience cover various facets of the oil industry — first in Oil India Ltd (OIL) (1983-1991) and then in ONGC since 1991. He also possesses a rich macro-view of the oil industry through experience gained while working in the Oil Coordination Committee (OCC) on deputation for three years (1997-2000).
Credited with reviving OVL, which had gone into a slumber following the disastrous acquisition of Russia-focused Imperial Energy in 2009, Sarraf brings to ONGC a no-nonsense approach and an eye for detail. OVL, which since inception had invested $17 billion in 32 assets in 15 countries until 2011, struck deals worth over $11 billion since 2012 under Sarraf.
As ONGC head, his immediate task is to raise oil and gas output and aggressively look for more reserves. Sarraf was Director (Finance) at ONGC before moving to OVL in September 2011. He is credited with helping ONGC win a royalty war with Cairn India. His homework on the Rajasthan contract, where ONGC held 30 per cent of the field and was forced to pay 100 per cent royalty and cess, led to Cairn India in 2011 finally agreeing to pay its share of the levies.
In September 2012 Sarraf made his first acquisition for OVL when the company bought US energy giant Hess Corp’s 2.7 per cent stake in Azerbaijan’s largest oil field and an associated pipeline for $1 billion. Two months later ONGC Videsh Ltd announced a $5-billion purchase of ConocoPhillips’s 8.4 per cent stake in Kazakhstan’s Kashagan project, touted as the biggest oil find since the 1960s when it was discovered in 2000. The bid was, however, blocked by the Kazakhstan government, which wants the stake to go to China.
Under his stewardship, ONGC Videsh Ltd bought US energy major Anadarko Petroleum Corporation’s 10 per cent stake in a giant Mozambique gas field for $2.64 billion. This deal arrived on top of a $2.475 billion deal announced in June to buy Videocon’s 10 per cent stake (jointly with Oil India Ltd) in the same field, which may hold as much as 65 Trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas resources. ONGC Videsh Ltd also acquired two blocks each in Columbia and Bangladesh and blocked China’s Sinochem Group from buying a 35 per cent interest in Brazilian oilfields.
Sarraf takes over the reins of ONGC at a crucial juncture when India’s national oil and gas exploration and production company looks to balance the tight fiscal situation arising out of a subsidy regime and strengthening itself to realise the emerging growth opportunities in India and abroad. As chairman and managing director of the Maharatna, he has chalked out a two-pronged priority matrix — first to augment production of oil and gas with a key focus on domestic assets and second to continue to aggressively scout for prospective oil and gas acreages overseas.
‘I have full confidence in ONGC’s strong fundamentals. Given the energy major’s strategic positioning in the national economy, we are geared up to deliver more value to all stakeholders. I am optimistic that my team in ONGC and the ONGC Group companies will perform at full throttle to match the growing expectations of the country,’ a raring-to-go D K Sarraf said shortly after taking charge of the glorious company.
Coming from a humble background, Sarraf took tuitions to help finance his commerce studies at the University of Delhi. Besides holding a master’s degree in commerce, he is a member of the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India (ICWAI) and the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI). Sarraf’s 30 years of experience cover various facets of the oil industry — first in Oil India Ltd (OIL) (1983-1991) and then in ONGC since 1991. He also possesses a rich macro-view of the oil industry through experience gained while working in the Oil Coordination Committee (OCC) on deputation for three years (1997-2000).
Credited with reviving OVL, which had gone into a slumber following the disastrous acquisition of Russia-focused Imperial Energy in 2009, Sarraf brings to ONGC a no-nonsense approach and an eye for detail. OVL, which since inception had invested $17 billion in 32 assets in 15 countries until 2011, struck deals worth over $11 billion since 2012 under Sarraf.
As ONGC head, his immediate task is to raise oil and gas output and aggressively look for more reserves. Sarraf was Director (Finance) at ONGC before moving to OVL in September 2011. He is credited with helping ONGC win a royalty war with Cairn India. His homework on the Rajasthan contract, where ONGC held 30 per cent of the field and was forced to pay 100 per cent royalty and cess, led to Cairn India in 2011 finally agreeing to pay its share of the levies.
In September 2012 Sarraf made his first acquisition for OVL when the company bought US energy giant Hess Corp’s 2.7 per cent stake in Azerbaijan’s largest oil field and an associated pipeline for $1 billion. Two months later ONGC Videsh Ltd announced a $5-billion purchase of ConocoPhillips’s 8.4 per cent stake in Kazakhstan’s Kashagan project, touted as the biggest oil find since the 1960s when it was discovered in 2000. The bid was, however, blocked by the Kazakhstan government, which wants the stake to go to China.
Under his stewardship, ONGC Videsh Ltd bought US energy major Anadarko Petroleum Corporation’s 10 per cent stake in a giant Mozambique gas field for $2.64 billion. This deal arrived on top of a $2.475 billion deal announced in June to buy Videocon’s 10 per cent stake (jointly with Oil India Ltd) in the same field, which may hold as much as 65 Trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas resources. ONGC Videsh Ltd also acquired two blocks each in Columbia and Bangladesh and blocked China’s Sinochem Group from buying a 35 per cent interest in Brazilian oilfields.
Sarraf takes over the reins of ONGC at a crucial juncture when India’s national oil and gas exploration and production company looks to balance the tight fiscal situation arising out of a subsidy regime and strengthening itself to realise the emerging growth opportunities in India and abroad. As chairman and managing director of the Maharatna, he has chalked out a two-pronged priority matrix — first to augment production of oil and gas with a key focus on domestic assets and second to continue to aggressively scout for prospective oil and gas acreages overseas.
‘I have full confidence in ONGC’s strong fundamentals. Given the energy major’s strategic positioning in the national economy, we are geared up to deliver more value to all stakeholders. I am optimistic that my team in ONGC and the ONGC Group companies will perform at full throttle to match the growing expectations of the country,’ a raring-to-go D K Sarraf said shortly after taking charge of the glorious company.
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