New Delhi, May 11: Mr Ravi Narayan Bastia, the man who discovered India’s biggest gas field, is among the 10 candidates who have applied for the top job at state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC).
Mr Bastia, who quit ONGC in 1996 to join Reliance Industries, is credited with discovering the gigantic Dhirubhai-1 gas field at the Krishna Godavari basin deep-sea block D6 in 2002. It was ranked as the biggest gas find in the world over the last decade.
A senior vice-president heading exploration operations at the Mukesh Ambani-run firm, he is also credited with Reliance Industries’ Mahanadi Basin gas finds.
He was awarded the Padma Shree, the nation’s highest civilian honour, in 2007.
Mr Bastia is making a homecoming and has applied for the post of ONGC chairman and managing director, official sources said.
The current incumbent, Mr R.S. Sharma, retires on January 31, 2011, on attaining the super-annuation age of 60 years. — PTI