OREANDA-NEWS. Mr Dinesh Kumar Sarraf is the new Chairman and Managing Director of ONGC and Chairman of ONGC Group of Companies. Mr Sarraf (56) has taken charge of the office of CMD today i.e. 01.03.2014.

Credited with a slew of acquisitions as MD- ONGC Videsh Limited, ONGC’s overseas arm, Mr Sarraf is a Finance man at the core of his heart who brings in over three decades of experience in the oil industry. In ONGC Videsh, Mr Sarraf institutionalized systems and processes to ensure attainment of the committed targets and introduced ‘zero-based risk review’ mechanism for risk assessment in major acquisitions and mitigations of the risks.

Mr. Sarraf has over 30 years of experience in various facets of oil industry - first in Oil India Limited (1983-1991) and then in ONGC since 1991. He also possesses a rich macro view of the oil industry experience gained while working in the Oil Coordination Committee on deputation for 3 years (1997-2000). Sarraf holds a Master’s degree in Commerce from the University of Delhi. He is also a member of the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India and the Institute of Company Secretaries of India.

Sarraf was the MD of ONGC Videsh Limited, tagged as ONGC Group’s growth engine, since September 2011. He transformed OVL into an aggressive overseas firm, stitching 4 deals worth over USD 11 billion in the past one year.

Under his stewardship, OVL bought US energy major Anadarko Petroleum Corporation’s 10% stake in a giant Mozambique gas field for USD 2.64 billion. This deal arrived on top of the USD 2.475 billion deal announced in June to buy Videocon’s 10% stake (jointly with Oil India Ltd) in the same field, which may hold as much as 65 Trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas resources.

As Chief of ONGC, Mr. Sarraf has chalked out a two-pronged priority matrix. One, to augment production of oil and gas, with key focus on domestic assets; second, continue to aggressively scout for prospective oil and gas acreages overseas.

An optimistic Sarraf said after joining, “I have full confidence in ONGC’s strong fundamentals. Given the energy major’s strategic positioning in 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”.