Petronet LNG has announced the appointment of Sanjay Kumar, Director (Marketing) at GAIL (India), as the company's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. According to the latest regulatory filing on October 2, 2026, the company's board approved Kumar's appointment at its meeting held on October 2, 2026, following the recommendation of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee. Kumar will assume charge as Managing Director & CEO of Petronet LNG from May 13, 2027, which is the date of vacancy for the position. Kumar will replace Akshay Kumar Singh, who retires on May 12, 2027. Singh joined the top post at Petronet in February 2021 and his tenure was extended by the Board for roughly 15 months from February 1, 2026 to May 12, 2025 as a one-off final extension. Singh is known for executing challenging, complex and large-sized cross-country pipeline networks of national importance, having previously served as Director (Pipelines) at state-run Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL).
Earlier this year in September, the company authorised a proposal to establish a 50:50 joint venture partnership with Gruner Renewable Energy Private Limited. As documented in an exchange filing submitted on September 17, 2026, the proposed joint venture will be established as a private limited company and will develop 10 compressed biogas (CBG) facilities throughout the nation. Each facility will possess a production capacity of 18 tonnes per day, with the overall initiative requiring an estimated total investment of ₹1,200 crore. The appointment comes weeks after Petronet LNG approved this strategic expansion into the renewable energy sector.
Sanjay Kumar joined GAIL (India) as Director (Marketing) on June 15, 2023 and brings extensive experience in the energy sector. Prior to his current role at GAIL, Kumar served as the Managing Director of state-run Indraprastha Gas (IGL), India's largest CNG distribution company, since April 2022. He also served as GAIL's nominee Director on the Boards of Maharashtra Natural Gas (MNGL) and GAIL Global (Singapore) Pte. Kumar is a mechanical engineer from IIT Kharagpur and holds an MBA, bringing over 35 years of sector experience across the natural gas and LNG value chain. After joining GAIL in 1988, he spent over three decades handling gas marketing, LNG sourcing, trading, shipping, business development, transmission, and pipeline project management. In 2011, Kumar was tasked with setting up GAIL Global (Singapore) Pte., the first overseas LNG trading subsidiary established by an Indian oil and gas PSU, and spent the following five years establishing its global market presence.
Petronet LNG operates India's largest liquefied natural gas import terminal at Dahej in Gujarat and also operates an LNG terminal at Kochi in Kerala. The company currently has 27.5 million tonnes a year (MMTPA) of regasification capacity, comprising 22.5 MMTPA at Dahej and 5 MMTPA at Kochi, and says it handles about 74 per cent of India's LNG imports and accounts for around 34 per cent of the country's gas supplies. Kumar's appointment comes at a time when India is seeking to raise the share of natural gas in its energy mix and expand LNG import and regasification infrastructure. The company is also pursuing expansion of its Dahej regasification capacity, a greenfield LNG terminal on India's east coast and a petrochemicals project at Dahej.
