Mumbai, Sep 24 (IANS): Essar Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Ltd (EOGEPL) has strengthened its board by appointing experts and experienced hydrocarbon professionals as Directors to provide support and guidance in line with the company's clean fuel-based growth strategy.

EOGEPL, an investee company of Essar Global Fund (EGFL), is India's largest operator of unconventional hydrocarbon acreages.

The new members included into the EOGEPL board are Prashant Ruia, Director, Essar Capital; Jonathan R. Kelafant, Vice President, Advanced Resources International Inc; Charles Boyer, stalwart in Schlumberger UHC; and Sunil Jain, a veteran in the renewable energy sector.

All the new members come with an experience of between 25 and 35 years.

Commenting on the appointments on behalf of Essar Capital Board, B.C. Tripathi, Director, said, "We are constantly making efforts to increase confidence amongst our stakeholders, thus the appointments of esteemed veterans of the industry onto our board will further bolster the updates we have made to our corporate governance. These appointments will further enhance our overall governance and risk assessment processes, as well as provide insights and value addition towards the business as it continues its transition to low carbon operations."

Essar Capital is the investment manager of EGFL, and EOGEPL is part of its investment focus in exploration and production businesses, which are increasingly focused on clean fuel.

With the coal bed methane (CBM) gas being widely seen as the fuel of this century, EOGEPL has become a part of the efforts to take the nation towards a gas-based economy through its increasing gas production.