Cairn Oil & Gas, a vertical of Vedanta Limited, and India’s largest private oil and gas exploration and production company, has announced the appointment of Ajay Kumar Dixit as its Chief Executive Officer. Ajay succeeds Sudhir Mathur, who after seven successful years with the company, moves on to pursue personal endeavors.

Ajay brings 39 years of rich experience in the energy sector and joined Vedanta in 2015 from Siemens where he was CEO – Energy for South Asia. An alumni of Delhi College of Engineering, he served as the Acting CEO of Vedanta’s Aluminium and Power business before being elevated to this new role. He brings deep experience in strategy, operations, technology, finance and regulatory affairs. His leadership will support Cairn’s vision to realize the full potential of Barmer block, grow the offshore business, appraisal of new blocks under OALP I and DSF II, and in continuing to steer a strong and high growth organization.

Speaking on the appointment, Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan, CEO, Vedanta, said, “We are delighted to appoint Ajay as CEO of our oil and gas business. Ajay has a deep understanding of our business and the markets we operate in. He is a dynamic and values-driven leader with an impressive track record of delivering consistent high quality performance in a safe and sustainable way. We are confident that he will play a stellar role in further increasing the operational efficiency and growth of our oil and gas business. We warmly thank Sudhir for all his contributions and wish him the very best in his future.”

Ajay said, “I have been closely watching and admiring Cairn’s spectacular performance and it is a privilege for me to lead this business. We will continue to invest systematically and bring in world-class technology to further strengthen our India exploration footprint. Our focus will remain on exploration and production in innovative and sustainable ways to support India’s vision of energy security and self-sufficiency.”

Cairn today produces approximately 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, which is about 25% of India’s crude production and has a vision to take up its contribution to 50%. The company has planned investments worth $3.5 billion over the next 3-4 years which will significantly ramp up its production.

About Cairn Oil and Gas

Cairn Oil & Gas, a vertical of Vedanta Limited, is the largest private oil and gas exploration and production companies in India, accounting for more than a quarter of India’s domestic crude oil production. It has a world-class resource base, with a current interest in 48 blocks in India, including the newly awarded 41 blocks under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) Round I auction, and two awarded under the Discovered Small Fields (DSF) Round-II. In 2004, Cairn made the largest onshore discovery in more than two decades in Mangala, Rajasthan. In its operations of 20 years, Cairn has opened 4 frontier basins with numerous discoveries; 38 in Rajasthan alone. Cairn is part of the Vedanta Resources Limited, the world’s sixth largest diversified natural resources conglomerate with interest in oil and gas, zinc-lead-silver, copper, iron ore, aluminium, and commercial power. The company has a presence across India, South Africa, Namibia, Australia, and Ireland. Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta’s strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety, and environment, and on enhancing the lives of local communities. The company has been conferred the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) “Sustainable Plus Platinum” label and ranks among the top 10 most sustainable companies in India.

For more information, please visit www.cairnindia.com / www.vedantalimited.com