ISLAMABAD: The Board of Directors (BoD) of the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) has shortlisted three names for the position of Managing Director (MD) which will be forwarded to the Ministry of Energy during the next week for due consideration.
Well-informed sources in the Ministry of Energy informed Pakistan Today that the board of OGDCL has completed the process to fill the top slot of MD OGDCL.
The BoD had earlier initiated the process on the advice of the energy ministry to fill the position which had been vacant for a long time.
They said the names of the shortlisted candidates include Shehryar Lodhi, Nadeem Bajwa and Zahid Mir. Among the three candidates, Shehryar Lodhi is the most likely to get the position, said sources.
“Out of three shortlisted candidates for the MD position, two candidates belong to service providing companies of the oil and gas sector and to some extent have not sufficient experience of working with the Exploration and Production (E&P) companies,” said sources.
The sources also told that the petroleum division will forward these names to the Prime Minister Imran Khan, seeking necessary consultation. After getting the PM’s consent on the shortlisted names, the petroleum division will forward the names of the shortlisted candidates to the federal cabinet for final approval to fill the top slot at OGDCL.
It is relevant to mention here that the top position of Pakistan’s largest E&P company has remained vacant during the entire tenures of Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) as Zahid Mir who is actually Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the OGDCL has worked as acting MD OGDCL during the entire tenure and the company remained without a permanent head during the said period.
Sources also informed that during the interview process, all the shortlisted candidates have shown willingness/interest to work with OGDCL if the salary for the top position of the company is set in the range of three to four million rupees. They said though it is the sole authority of the board of OGDCL to set the salary for the position of MD\, yet the board will also seek guidance from the petroleum division regarding the salary for the position.
OGDCL’s board is to write to the petroleum division to get advice from the premier or from the federal cabinet/government regarding fixing the amount of the monthly salary package, said sources.
It is pertinent to mention that most favourite candidate for MD OGDCL position Shehryar Lodhi belongs to Schlumberger. Shehryar Lodhi is Vice President TS – Europe and Africa at Schlumberger Oilfield Services in France.
Schlumberger is the world’s leading provider of technology for reservoir characterization, drilling, production, and processing to the oil and gas industry. Schlumberger is the world’s leading provider of technology for reservoir characterization, drilling, production, and processing to the oil and gas industry. Schlumberger supplies the industry’s most comprehensive range of products and services, from exploration through production and integrated pore-to-pipeline solutions for hydrocarbon recovery that optimize reservoir performance
Similarly, the second shortlisted name is of Nadeem Bajwa. He is from Weatherford. Currently, he is the Area Director / Managing Director Saudi Arabia, Neutral Zone (Saudi / Kuwait), Pakistan and Bahrain.
Weatherford is also one of the largest multinational oilfield service companies, delivering innovative technologies and services worldwide. The company provides products and services for drilling, evaluation, completion, production and intervention of oil and natural gas wells, along with pipeline construction and commissioning.
Furthermore, Zahid Mir is Chief Operating Officer at OGDCL. However, he has been working as acting Managing Director of OGDCL for a long time.
Sources further said that acting MD OGDCL is also trying hard to secure top position. They said that Zahid Mir has been using his influence to convince PTI-government in his favour.
Nyc job I wish I work in ogdcl