Tullow Oil Plc on Tuesday announced the appointment of Rahul Dhir as Chief Executive Officer and Non-Executive Director of the group.
By the same token, the group which has come under heavy scrutiny over the viability of its Kenyan oil project also announced Dorothy Thompson, currently, Executive Chair of Tullow will return to her position as Non-Executive Chair after a “limited period of handover”.
In its statement, the British company expressed confidence in its appointment stating Rahul brings extensive experience in oil and gas to Tullow.
Mr Rahul Dhir is currently CEO of Delonex Energy, an Africa-focused oil and gas company that he founded in 2013.
According to Ms Thompson, under Rahul’s leadership, Delonex has delivered low-cost drilling and seismic operations along with leading social and environmental performance in sub-Saharan Africa while achieving material exploration success and discovering substantial oil resources in Chad.
Delonex has also delivered exploration campaigns in Ethiopia and Kenya where Delonex operates Block 12A with Tullow as a non-operating partner.
Prior to establishing Delonex, Rahul served as Managing Director and CEO of Cairn India from its IPO in 2006 until 2012.
During Rahul’s tenure, Cairn India delivered operated production of over 200,000 barrels of oil per day with operating costs of less than $5 per barrel of oil says Tullow.
Cairn India also successfully delivered over $5 billion of development projects including the world’s longest heated pipeline at a finding and development cost of less than $5 per barrel of oil.
Rahul started his career as a Petroleum Engineer, before moving into investment banking where he led teams at Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch, advising major oil & gas companies on merger and acquisition and capital market-related issues.
Rahul is a UK citizen and was educated at the Indian Institute of Technology (BTech), the University of
Texas (MSc) and the Wharton School (MBA).
Tullow Executive Chairperson Dorothy Thompson expressed her delight at the appointment and welcomed Rahul to the organisation.
“I and am very pleased that he has accepted the position of CEO. His oil & gas, financial and African experience combined with his record of strong leadership made him the stand-out candidate for the Board. I look forward to Rahul joining Tullow in July and working with him closely in the coming years.” said Md Thompson.
The Chief Executive Officer-designate said that he is “very excited” at the opportunity to lead Tullow and re-establish it as an iconic company in the industry.
“The company has high-quality assets and great people. It also has a unique position in Africa, built on a proven track record of responsible operations, strong relationships and a commitment to sustainability. I am looking forward to working with the team and the Board to re-build an exceptional business.”.
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