GAIL’s Sanjay Kumar named next Petronet LNG CEO

Sanjay Kumar, Director (Marketing) at state-owned GAIL (India) Ltd, has been named the next Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Petronet LNG Ltd. His term will begin on May 13, 2027, following the conclusion of current CEO A K Singh's extended tenure.

Petronet's board finalized the decision during a 15-minute meeting on October 2, as disclosed in a regulatory filing. Kumar, 59, has been appointed for a five-year tenure.

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As India's largest liquefied natural gas importer, Petronet is majority-owned by state-run energy companies, with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), GAIL (India) Ltd, Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) each holding a 12.5% stake. Although chaired by the Union Petroleum Secretary, Petronet is registered as a private limited entity. Consequently, it operates outside the jurisdiction of government watchdogs such as the CAG, CVC, and RTI. Board executives are subject to a retirement age of 65, compared to 60 at public sector units, and receive higher compensation than PSU counterparts.

Kumar, who has served as GAIL's Marketing Director since mid-June 2023, holds a mechanical engineering degree from IIT Kharagpur and an MBA. He brings more than 35 years of industry experience across the natural gas and LNG value chain.

Petronet LNG manages India's premier LNG import facility at Dahej in Gujarat alongside a second terminal at Kochi in Kerala. Together, these facilities offer a combined regasification capacity of 27.5 million tonnes per annum (MMTPA) - 22.5 MMTPA at Dahej and 5 MMTPA at Kochi. The company manages roughly 74% of the nation's LNG imports and fulfills about 34% of overall gas consumption.

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This leadership change coincides with national efforts to boost natural gas within the energy mix and expand gas infrastructure. To support these goals, Petronet is advancing plans to increase Dahej's regasification capacity, build a greenfield LNG facility on the east coast, and construct a petrochemical project at Dahej.