Shrikant Madhav Vaidya has taken over as the Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) effective July 1, 2020. Concurrently, Vaidya will also be Chairman of Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd., a stand-alone refining subsidiary of IndianOil and Indian Oiltanking Ltd., another joint venture providing ‘terminalling’ services apart from being on the board of Hindustan Urvarak & Rasayan Ltd., a joint venture setting up three world-scale fertiliser plants. Vaidya, who is on the Board of Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd., will be taking over as its Chairman and will also be Director on the Board of Petronet LNG Ltd.
Prior to his elevation, Vaidya was the Director (Refineries) on the IndianOil Board, since October 2019. He succeeds Sanjiv Singh who has superannuated from the services of the Corporation.
A Chemical Engineer from the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Vaidya has over 34 years of extensive experience in refining & petrochemicals operations. He has had a decade-long association with India’s largest cracker plant – the Panipat Naphtha Cracker Complex, a major driver of IndianOil’s petrochemicals business – right from the drawing board stage. He is among the select technocrats in the Indian oil & gas industry who are proficient in all facets of refinery-petrochemicals integration, desirable for the sustainability of the oil & gas industry in the long-term.
Vaidya has always laid emphasis on ensuring smooth supply of products, eco-friendly business operations and healthy refining margins. During his tenure as Director (Refineries) and earlier as Executive Director (Refinery Operations) at IndianOil, he presided over several refinery expansion and petrochemical projects. He also steered the timely rollout of BS-VI grade auto fuels across the country, commenced supply of IMO-compliant bunker fuel (0.5% sulphur) and a special winter-grade diesel for the high-altitude regions of the Himalayas, and expanded the Corporation’s green energy offerings with projects related to biofuels and 2G/3G ethanol-blended fuels at its refineries.
With proven technological prowess, future-ready business acumen and people-centric leadership style, Vaidya nurtures a strong vision of leveraging technology and innovative, sustainable fuel solutions for the Corporation’s growth as an integrated energy major.