Rosneft-Trafigura led Essar Oil to be called Nayara Energy

Essar Oil Ltd, owned by Russian firm Rosneft and partners, today said it plans to change its corporate identity to Nayara Energy Ltd.

Rosneft and its partners completed the USD 12.9-billion acquisition of Essar Oil last August, entering the world's fastest-growing Indian energy market.

"Essar Oil Ltd (EOL) is seeking approval to change its corporate identity to Nayara Energy Ltd. The new corporate identity for EOL is in line with the company's strategy to create a new brand and identity, reflecting the new ownership and its ethos," the company said in a statement.

Rosneft owns 49.13 per cent of the company while global commodity trading and logistics giant, Trafigura and Russia's UCP Investment Group own another 49.13 per cent.

EOL operates a 20 million tonnes a year refinery at Vadinar in Gujarat and 4,473 petrol pumps. The new owners of Essar Oil aim to scale up the company's petrol pump network to 6,000 outlets.

The rebranding "will enable positioning the company to compete and succeed in the new era and meet customer needs in the fastest growing energy market in the world", the statement said.

"The term coined from 'Naya' (new) and 'Era', also strongly signifies the company's progressive vision to succeed in the dynamic Indian and global energy markets. The adoption of the new name is subject to all requisite approvals and the new corporate identity will be rolled out progressively," it said.

In a message to employees, CEO B Anand said Nayara "signifies the company's vision to succeed in a new era in the energy sector".

"With the backing of our new shareholders, we are confident of steering the company to a new era, while delivering world class products and services to meet customer needs, across our value chain," he wrote.

Anand told employees that they would hear more on the brand, identity, brand promise and ethos in the weeks to come.

"The change in the corporate identity to Nayara Energy will come into effect after requisite approvals are in place. Until then, we will continue to use the existing name, Essar Oil Ltd," he added.

The company's 12-member board is headed by chairman and non-executive director Tony Fountain, who worked with BP and Reliance Industries in the past. It includes senior representatives from the investors, senior management and independent directors.

Essar Oil's incumbent CEO Lalit Gupta had stepped down from the position but continues as a senior advisor to the board of the new company. B Anand is the CEO now. He was chief financial officer Trafigura India and has worked with the Future Group and Vedanta Resources before that.