Arun Kumar Singh, former chairman of oil refining and marketing company BPCL, was on Wednesday appointed chairman and managing director of ONGC — the first instance of a retired person being appointed the head of a maharatna PSU.

“The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal of the ministry of petroleum and natural gas for the appointment of Arun Kumar Singh, ex-CMD, BPCL as chairman, ONGC for a threeyear tenure with effect from the date of his assumption of charge of the post,” an official order said.

PTI first reported Singh’s appointment on November 17.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is India’s top oil and gas producer.

A mechanical engineer from the National Institute of Technology, Patna, Singh was the e director (marketing) of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) from October 2018 to September 2021, after which he was elevated as chairman and managing director of the company.

Singh retired as BPCL head 13 months later in October 2022.

A search-cum-selec - tion committee, constituted by the oil ministry, zeroed in on Singh after interviewing six candidates on August 27.

Singh was already selected to head the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) before the August 27 interviews.

In his nearly 38 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, he has headed business units and entities in BPCL such as retail, LPG, pipelines and supply chain optimisation.

He also held the position of president (Africa & Australasia) in Bharat PetroResources Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the BPCL, according to information available on the BPCL website.