Dr. Ranjit Rath

Dr. Ranjit Rath is currently leading Oil India Limited (OIL), India’s oldest National E&P Company as the Chairman & Managing Director and Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) as the Chairman. Under his leadership, OIL, a state-owned enterprise of the Government of India, with its origin dating back to the glorious year of oil discovery in India in 1889, has been accorded with the MAHARATNA status by the Govt. of India, the highest honour conferred to a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) in India. Dr. Rath is spearheading the next phase of transformative growth at OIL and its subsidiary NRL, with planned investments of around USD 10 Bn in upstream and USD 5 Bn in midstream & downstream hydrocarbon value chain in next five years. Under his leadership, OIL achieved landmark milestones including highest cumulative oil & gas production and highest gas production in FY2024-25 since inception, establishing presence of hydrocarbon and thus mapping new petroleum systems in North Bank of Assam Shelf and Andaman Shallow Water Basin, securing array of discoveries leading to monetisation through near field exploration campaigns, OGDC Membership and significant upgradation in ESG ratings. Dr. Rath is Spearheading NRL's growth with refining capacity enhancement from 3 MMT of crude oil annually to 9 MMT and a cross country ~1640 km crude oil pipeline with a capex of ~ USD 4 Bn and initiation of a Poly-propylene Plant (Pet-chem Project) with 360 KTPA capacity with capex of ~ USD 1 Bn. As Chairman, Spearheaded construction and commissioning of the 2G Bio Ethanol plant, first of its kind in the world at Numaligarh. A forward-thinking leader, Dr. Rath is steering OIL toward sustainable energy transition, aligning with global climate goals. With financial outlay of around USD 3 Bn, he has set an ambitious Net Zero Emission target by 2040 and unveiled "Vision 2040"—a strategic roadmap to transform OIL and NRL into an Integrated Energy Company. This vision covers a diversified portfolio, including Renewable Energy, Green Hydrogen, Biofuels, Geothermal Energy and Carbon Capture, Utilization and Sequestration (CCUS) initiatives, ensuring long-term sustainability while maintaining energy security. Dr. Rath, an alumnus of IIT Bombay & IIT Kharagpur, is a recipient of the prestigious National Geosciences Award from the Hon`ble President of India for 2016. Dr. Rath has also been bestowed the Distinguished Alumnus Award (DAA) of IIT Kharagpur for the year 2022. Dr. Rath, a Geoscientist with impeccable experience and expertise of more than 25 years has a rich portfolio of diverse roles spanning from upstream asset management, strategy formulation and business development to application of geosciences & exploration geology in several important projects including creation of Strategic Petroleum Reserves, a first of its kind initiative of Govt. of India entailing underground rock caverns for strategic storage of crude oil - An intervention towards Energy Security.

Session Overview

Wednesday, 5 November

10:40

Global strategy ICC Hall A 10:40 - 11:20

Redefining the upstream industry: the new leadership agenda

The upstream industry has seen rapid transformation in recent years. Technology has been instrumental in this, as companies have focused on cost resilience by leveraging AI and digital technologies. Additionally, capital investment in the oil and gas sector will need to scale to meet rising demand – supporting long-term energy security while maximising shareholder value.

For upstream energy leaders, strategies can include both growth and consolidation in the form of portfolio diversification, strategic acquisitions and mergers, and scaling operations. In addition, with increased supply and lower oil price forecasts, cost reduction is imperative, and operators must champion integrated solutions across all operational aspects.

Additionally, investments can accelerate breakthroughs in scalable technologies such as renewable energy integration, carbon capture and storage (CCS), and Direct Air Capture (DAC), as well as advanced analytics to increase energy and production efficiency. Challenges remain in finding the right balance between decarbonisation and profitability priorities, which upstream leaders will have to navigate while simultaneously maintaining targets amidst shifting market dynamics.

Attendee insights:

Learn from energy companies about what their priorities are in upstream and how they are changing their business models to adapt to the current industry needs.

Thursday, 7 November

All Sessions

10:00

Strategic Conference ICC Hall 10:00 - 11:00

View Session

Attracting and retaining the energy talent required to deliver the energy transition

In 2023, the IEA reported that energy employment reached nearly 67 million in 2022, with about 35 million in clean energy sectors and about 32 million in fossil fuel sectors. Its Net Zero Emissions by 2050 scenario projects that 14 million new clean energy jobs will need to be created by 2030, while another 16 million workers shift to new roles related to clean energy. Energy organisations have equally critical dual challenges - securing talent and skills to deliver the new energy system while retaining legacy talent and skills for traditional energy production. As with the energy transition itself, solutions will be complex and must take into account employee value proposition evolution, rising employee expectations, the opportunities enabled by a global talent pool, and efficiencies created by emerging new technologies like AI and machine learning. In an increasingly competitive labour market, how can businesses attract and retain the energy talent required to deliver the energy transition?

Attendee insights:

Hear from industry leaders on how they are attracting new talent for the energy transition roles of the future whilst retaining legacy talent for their traditional energy business. Understand from a young graduate perspective what it means to enter the energy industry vs another industry.