After weeks of delay, Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy has agreed to clear appointment of two independent directors on board of Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), a requirement that was must for the state-owned firm's public offering next month.
The company has fixed February 9, 2011 as the record date for ascertaining the eligibility of the shareholders, who would be entitled to receive sub-divided shares and bonus shares, it said in a separate filing to the BSE.
Giving a shot in the arm to ONGC chairman Subir Raha, who has been resisting appointment of additional government directors on the company board, the department of public enterprises on Wednesday said their number cannot exceed two.
Senior bureaucrats Avinash Joshi and Niraj Verma are among the 10 candidates who are in the race to become chairman and managing director of India's largest oil and gas producer, ONGC. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) director-finance Pomila Jaspal and ONGC director for technology and field services Om Prakash Singh are the other prominent names in fray for the top job, according to a candidate shortlist by the Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB). PESB - the government headhunter - will hold interviews to select the new head of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) this week. Both the bureaucrats are from the 1994 batch of IAS officers belonging to the Assam-Meghalaya cadre.
Government headhunter PESB on Friday did not find anyone suitable from nine candidates, including two serving IAS officers, to head India's largest oil and gas producer, ONGC. The Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) interviewed 9 out of the 10 candidates who had applied for the post of chairman and managing director of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). "Keeping in view the strategic importance and vision for the company and its future, the Board did not recommend any candidate and decided to constitute a Search Committee," PESB said in a notice after interviews. Those interviewed included senior bureaucrats Avinash Joshi and Niraj Verma.
The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons Chief V K Sibal, whose appointment on the ONGC board has triggered a controversy, on Monday said ONGC chairman Subir Raha's non-acceptance of his appointment amounted to "gross indiscipline."
The red herring prospectus is likely to be filed with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India on September 5.
The follow-on public offer was originally scheduled to open on March 15, but has now been rescheduled.
The Public Enterprises Selection Board, which is the government head-hunter, interviewed seven candidates for the post, which fell vacant after Dinesh K Sarraf was elevated as Chairman and Managing Director of ONGC.
The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation may face delisting from stock exchanges as a petroleum ministry directive appointing additional government directors on company board has violated its listing agreement.
In the wake of opposition from the law ministry and the Department of Public Enterprises, the petroleum ministry
Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar has blamed bureaucrats in his ministry for the fiasco over appointment of additional government directors on ONGC board, saying legal opinion should have been taken instead of doing 'guess-work'.
If Raha's resistance to the petroleum ministry's interference turns into a plebiscite at the firm's AGM on Sept 21, the ministry may vote for his ouster.
ONGC will submit a proposal to the Union government for acquiring Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd's entire 16.97% stake in Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd at Rs 37.75 per share even though HPCL is not keen to divest its holding.
ONGC and Oil India bought a five per cent each of the government's stake in IOCL, yielding Rs 5,340 crore (Rs 53.4 billion) to the government.
ONGC must tackle several issues first only then it can turnaround its fortunes.
After getting Indian Oil Corporation, the nation's largest oil firm, to drop four independent directors and Engineers India Ltd to boot out two, it is now seeking to sack former Power Secretary P Uma Shankar, chartered accountant S Ravi and former BPCL Chairman R K Singh from the board of ONGC.
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