Vinod Tahiliani appointed CEO of BP-RIL venture India Gas Solutions

India Gas Solutions Pvt Ltd (IGS), the joint venture between BP and Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) for sourcing, marketing and transporting natural gas, today announced the appointment of Vinod Tahiliani as CEO of the 50:50 joint venture company.

Tahiliani joins IGS from BP, where he was vice president, strategy and commercial for BP India. He has over 25 years of international experience in the oil and gas business and project financing.

For BP, he has developed gas value chain businesses and worked on oil, gas and power developments in India, Angola and Vietnam.

''The need for assured gas supplies to fuel the exponential energy demand and growth of India is crucial and our IGS partnership is well positioned to contribute significantly in this respect,'' Sashi Mukundan, region president and country head of BP India, said.

''Vinod Tahiliani brings with him the expertise to lead IGS as we look to further develop the business,'' said PMS Prasad, executive director, RIL. ''Demand for gas has been growing at an exponential rate and we anticipate natural gas to emerge as the preferred choice of fuel given its properties as a cleaner and sustainable fuel source,'' he added.

IGS administers the existing gas sales contracts to customers for production from the KG-D6 block and is actively pursuing opportunities for marketing R-Series gas and LNG imports.

The joint venture company also focuses on infrastructure to accelerate transportation and marketing of natural gas within the country.

India Gas Solutions has employees seconded from both companies, bringing deep experience in the gas business, both in India and internationally.  RIL's Bibhas Ganguly is the chairman for IGS, and there is equal representation from RIL and BP on the IGS board.