Tullow Oil appoints Rahul Dhir as CEO

Rahul Dhir, the former Cairn India chief executive who had secured a USD 600 million funding from Warburg Pincus for his Africa-focused oil firm, was on Tuesday appointed the CEO of Tullow Oil Plc.

In a statement, Tullow said Dhir will take over as the company's chief executive officer and executive director of the group from July 1.

Dhir is credited with helping Cairn India, the firm that gave the country its biggest onland oil discovery, successfully list on bourses. He quit the company company in August 2012 to put together a new Africa-focused oil and gas explorer, Delonex Energy.

In June 2013, Delonex announced that it had secured USD 600 million capital from an investor consortium led by private equity firm Warburg Pincus.

Delonex acquired a few exploration blocks in Central and East Africa but Dhir could not replicate the success of Cairn.

It was not clear what will be the fate of Delonex. The company website was down and Dhir could not be reached for comments.

No announcement of his resignation from Delonex has been made public yet. "Rahul brings extensive leadership experience in oil and gas to Tullow. He is currently CEO of Delonex Energy, an Africa-focused oil and gas company that he founded in 2013," Tullow said in the statement. "Under his leadership, Delonex has delivered low-cost drilling and seismic operations along with leading social and environmental performance in sub-Saharan Africa."
Dorothy Thompson, Executive Chair of Tullow Oil Plc, commented: "I am delighted to welcome Rahul to Tullow and am very pleased that he has accepted the position of CEO. His oil & gas, financial and African experience combined with his record of strong leadership made him the stand-out candidate for the Board."