After a sabbatical of almost 10 months, P Elango, former CEO of Cairn India, on Monday joined Chennai-based Hindustan Oil Exploration Company (HOEC) as the Managing Director. He was also appointed Additional Director on the company’s board.
The decision was as quiet as the man himself. “The decision to come back to the mainstream was prompted by three aspects – to be part of a professionally run set up and not family owned; to be closer to home, Chennai; and getting to build my own team,” Elango told BusinessLine .
Though the buzz within the industry had been that Elango could run for the post of the upstream regulator — Directorate General of Hydrocarbons — the Government recently gave a six-month extension to the present DGH.
HOEC, which has Italian oil major ENI as a key promoter, has interests in nine blocks across the country — two in the Cauvery Basin, two in Rajasthan, one in Assam and four in the Cambay Basin. “Domestic market will remain the focus. I would be interested in looking at the ‘marginal fields’ which the Government is proposing to put on offer,” he said. On Monday, HOEL shares closed 0.15 per cent higher at ₹32.85.