Oiling New Wheels
New Delhi   19-Jan-2018


B. ASHOK , Chairman, Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals

Ashok, who was appointed Chairman and Managing Director of Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (RRPL) in November last year, had an outstanding record during his three-year stint at Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) in the same capacity. But the challenge of building a new, state-of-the-art refinery cum petrochemical complex from scratch - with a capacity of 60 million metric tonne per annum (MMTPA), making it one of the largest in the world - is of a different kind. RRPL is a new joint venture the three state oil marketing companies - IOCL, Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum (BPCL), owning 50 per cent, 25 per cent and 25 per cent respectively - decided upon in mid-2017.

Under Ashok's charge, IOCL's net profit surged from `5,273 crore in 2014/15 to `10,399 crore the following year. In 2016/17, the company went on to record a further 70 per cent rise in net profit to `19,106.40 crore, and was adjudged India's most profitable public sector enterprise, even surpassing the usual winner, Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC). No doubt the plunge in crude prices - from $108 a barrel, when Ashok took charge in July 2014, to $46.17 a barrel in June 2017 when he left office, contributed, as did the government's steps during this period to dismantle the oil subsidy regime. But Ashok's adroit use of the opportunity also made a difference.