Industry Breakfast: India’s Offshore Oil and Gas Industry
Tuesday, 2 May 2006
The US Department of Commerce and the Offshore Technology Conference organize the Industry Breakfasts. Industry Breakfast tickets are US $25 each. Seating is limited, so participants are encouraged to purchase tickets with registration.
Government of India officials from the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Gas Authority of India Ltd. (GAIL) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will highlight recent exploration and production activity offshore western and eastern India. Discussions also will cover the New Exploration Licensing Policy and the current fiscal environment for offshore oil and gas investment. Commercialization of deep water gas resources, particularly those located in the Krishna-Godavari Basin, will be a focus.
Participants and Topics
Al Frink, Assistant Secretary for Manufacturing and Services, U.S. Department of Commerce
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Al Frink is the first assistant secretary for Manufacturing and Services, serving as chief advocate for the US manufacturing sector within the federal government and brings 30 years of private-sector experience to his new position. As a small business executive, Frink built an internationally recognized carpet manufacturing company, Fabrica International, a California carpet manufacturer. As the assistant secretary, Frink advocates, coordinates and implements policies that will help US manufacturers compete globally. Frink is a champion of export. As his company's chief advocate and salesperson, he opened foreign markets and took responsibility for all international accounts. Frink is also a committed and dedicated volunteer and public servant, particularly on cultural and educational issues within the Hispanic and Native American communities. In 2004, Frink was inducted into the prestigious Small Business Administration Hall of Fame. He has received the Silver Trumpet Award, the most prestigious award from the Southern California Floor Covering Association and the Distinguished Service Award from the Native American Preparatory School (NAPS).
Overview of the Hydrocarbon India’s Oil and Gas Sector and Potential
Shri M.S. Srinivasan, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
Shri M.S. Srinivasan serves as secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas; he previously held the position of special secretary. In a career spanning over 34 years, he had had varied experience in both public and private sectors. He worked as general manager of Pallavan Transport Corporation, as managing director of Kottabomman Transport Corporation and project coordinator of the Tamil Nadu Integrated Nutrition Project. Srinivasan worked in the Ministry of Petroleum as a director during from 1984 to 1989 and has held positions with Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited, the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board, the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Limited and the Government of Tamil Nadu, Industries Development. He has also worked as joint secretary in the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India in charge of promotion of foreign investment into the country. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras bestowed the Distinguished Alumnus Award on Srinivasan in 2001. He graduated from IIT Madras and received his MPA from Harvard University.
Offshore Oil and Gas Activities and Future Developments
Shri Subir Raha, Chairman and Managing Director, ONGC
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Subir Raha is chairman and managing director of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC); he is also the chairman of ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) and Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL). Raha served on deputation with the Government of India as the head of the Oil Coordination Committee, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas. After a series of field and staff assignments in various disciplines with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), he joined the Indian Oil Board as director of Human Resources; concurrently, he held the charges of Business Development, Information Technology and Corporate Communications. Raha graduated in electronics and telecommunication engineering from Jadavpur University. He received an MBA with Distinction from the University of Leeds and is an alumnus of the Administrative Staff College at Henley, UK. Raha has been acknowledged to be amongst the 100 Most Powerful CEOs in India by the Corporate Dossier – Economic Times.
Prospects for India’s Oil & Natural Gas Sector
V.K. Sibal, Director General of Hydrocarbons, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
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V.K. Sibal currently serves as director general of the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH). Before joining DGH, he was director (personnel) in Oil India Ltd., an E&P Navratna company of India. Sibal joined Oil India Ltd. in 1977 as a geophysicist and gradually rose to assume senior technical positions in the organization. He eventually became group general manager and was responsible for the entire exploration operations of Oil India Ltd. His initiatives during the tenure included induction of world-class cutting edge technologies for 2D, 3D seismic data acquisition, processing and interpretation besides integrating various connected disciplines. Subsequently, he joined the Board of Oil India Ltd. as director (personnel) in 2003. Sibal received an MS in physics in 1974 and has a post graduate diploma in human resource management.
U.S. Investment Opportunities and Prospects in India’s Oil & Gas Sector
Ron Somers, President, US-India Business Council
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Ron Somers is the President of the US-India Business Council, established in 1975 and comprised of more than 160 of the top US companies investing in India. He serves as the council's CEO, leading advocacy initiatives on Capitol Hill as well as in New Delhi. Somers also heads the Manhattan India Investment Roundtable in New York, comprised of the top 20 Fortune 500 financial service institutions, banks and insurance companies investing in India. He recently served as Unocal Corporation's chief executive in India, developing commercial opportunities in India’s emerging energy market. Previously, Somers served as managing director for India on behalf of Cogentrix Energy, tasked with setting up a 1000 megawatt electric power project in the Indian state of Karnataka. He has served on the board of directors of Hindustan Oil Exploration Company (HOEC), India's first private sector oil exploration company, as well as on the Board of the United States Educational Foundation in India, which oversees the country's Fulbright Scholarship endowment. Somers holds an MA degree from Lincoln College, Oxford University and an honors degree from Middlebury College in Vermont.
