• Aims to create industry benchmark in health and operational safety
• Committed to adopting sustainable best practices for the environment

Vedanta Cairn Oil and Gas announced the appointment of three senior leaders with diversified experience from across the globe in order to further strengthen the Health and Safety practice across various functional areas. In line with Vedanta Cairn’s vision of ‘Zero Harm, Zero Waste, and Zero Discharge’, one major focus area of the company is to systematically reduce risk for people and nature in all their operations. With these latest hiring, the company aims to redesign the Health & Safety (HSE) program to ensure that every operating unit has a head of safety and environment, that will help Cairn to meet their goal of becoming the leading global HSE player in the industry.

Amongst the new HSE leaders who have joined the company, Mr. Kaushik Das has joined at the significant position of the Chief Health & Safety Officer-Onshore for Cairn Oil and Gas, where he will be leading the Rajasthan HSE organisation at Barmer and also oversee the implementation of Process Safety Management across onshore operations. Prior to joining Cairn, he was serving TransCanada Pipelines as a Senior Advisor. Mr. Christopher W. Waid has been appointed as the Chief Health and Safety Officer for SBU – Tight Gas Facilities, Cairn Oil and Gas. He was earlier associated with Universal Pegasus International as VP, Corporate HSE and Risk Management – Onshore, Offshore and Downstream. With a rich experience of about 26 years, Mr. Waid will be responsible for health and safety excellence in the development of surface facilities for gas production. Additionally, with more than two decades of rich global health and safety experience, Mr. Froilan Vivas Merlo has been appointed as Chief Health and Safety Officer, SBU – Tight Oil and Tight Gas Development, Cairn Oil and Gas. He is a certified ISO 14001 and OSHA 18001 Internal Auditor, and has joined from Wintershall Argentina where he was holding the designation of a senior HSE leader. His key role would be to build the HSE capability and excellence in his SBU.

Speaking on the development, Mr. Sudhir Mathur, CEO, Vedanta Cairn Oil & Gas said, “Safety is and will always be our utmost priority. Our endeavor is to set a benchmark for the industry in all our business and employee related initiatives. The three seasoned leaders along with impactful initiatives by Vedanta will support us to be amongst the top HSE players in the natural resources sector and strengthen our commitment of keeping sustainability and the well-being of all our stakeholders at the heart of all our decisions.”

Vedanta Cairn continues to embrace a conducive environment for encouraging innovation for optimum utilization of natural resources. Through their commitment towards quality production, expansion and highest standards of health and safety, the company wishes to partner with the country in its journey of growth and development. In accordance with Vedanta Cairn’s recent investment plan of $850 million in the oil & gas business, the company aims to build an integrated approach towards overall development, risk-reward mechanism and industry best safety practices. Vedanta Cairn applies strong technical, operational and organizational safety barriers to prevent from accidents, and advanced technology equipment to meet high safety standards. Using natural resources responsibly and minimizing environmental impact is another priority for the organisation. Appointment of these global HSE professionals will help to deliver health and safety excellence along with best in class process parameters, which will further enhance the overall performance of the organisation.

About Cairn Oil & Gas

Cairn Oil & Gas, a vertical of Vedanta Limited, is one of the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production companies in India, accounting for more than a quarter of India’s domestic crude oil production. It has a world-class resource base, with a current interest in 46 blocks in India, including the newly awarded 41 blocks under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) Round I auction. In 2004, Cairn made the largest onshore discovery in more than two decades in Mangala, Rajasthan. In its operations of 20 years, Cairn has opened 4 frontier basins with numerous discoveries; 38 in Rajasthan alone.

Cairn is part of the Vedanta Resources Limited, the world’s sixth largest diversified natural resources conglomerate with interest in oil and gas, zinc-lead-silver, copper, iron ore, aluminium, and commercial power. The company has a presence across India, South Africa, Namibia, Australia, and Ireland. Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta’s strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety, and environment, and on enhancing the lives of local communities. The company has been conferred the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) “Sustainable Plus Platinum” label and ranks among the top 10 most sustainable companies in India.