Ajay Kumar Dwivedi began his career in 1980 in offshore seismic data acquisition, later transitioning into seismic data interpretation. Over the course of a distinguished career spanning more than 38 years with ONGC, he held several key positions in hydrocarbon exploration across various work centres. He held the prestigious position of Director (Exploration), ONGC, where he was responsible for managing ONGC’s exploration portfolio across numerous producing and frontier basins at the corporate level. In addition to his primary role, he also held additional charges as Director – Health, Safety and Environment, and Director – Carbon Management and Sustainability Group. During his tenure, he initiated and implemented significant structural and process-level reforms aimed at enhancing operational efficiency and building organizational capabilities. He is currently serving as Director (Strategy & Growth) at AskEOR Tech Hydrocarbon Ltd.

Dr. D. K. Trehan, a distinguished expert in Applied Geophysics and a postgraduate of Banaras Hindu University, has made significant contributions to petroleum exploration and reservoir management, notably through the use of 4D seismic interpretation in the Balol field. During his tenure at ONGC, he played a pivotal role in enhancing data quality, introducing offshore 3D seismic and gravity data acquisition, and advancing cost-effective exploration methods. A recipient of the National Mineral Award (1995), he has also served in key advisory roles for the Government of India and is recognized as a Member Emeritus of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, USA.

P.S. Narayanan Kutty is a seasoned geoscience professional with a robust background in international oil and gas exploration and production. He has held key technical and managerial roles at ONGC Ltd. and MECL (Mansarovar Energy Colombia Ltd.), a joint venture between ONGC Videsh and China’s SIPC. His expertise includes basin analysis, prospect evaluation, and exploration acreage assessment across a diverse range of geological settings. He has contributed to exploration efforts in multiple countries, including Kazakhstan, Russia, Indonesia, Australia, Suriname, Cuba, Brazil, and Colombia, bringing valuable insights into global hydrocarbon prospectivity.

Kharak Singh, a retired Executive Director of ONGC, held several high-level positions during his distinguished career. He also served as President of the Society of Petroleum Geophysicists (SPG) from 2002 to 2004. After retiring from ONGC, he joined Essar, where he was responsible for managing the technical and operational aspects of various exploration and production initiatives, including exploration, appraisal, development, and production activities. During his tenure at Essar, he was instrumental in establishing the company’s Exploration & Production division and successfully led the acquisition of 13 E&P blocks for oil and gas development in India and abroad.

Niranjan C. Nanda, is an independent Oil & Energy Professional with more than six decades of experience in the industry. He holds M.Sc. in Exploration Geophysics from Banaras Hindu University. He served 37 years in ONGC as Exploration Geophysicist and later on became an independent consultant. He has authored a book titled “Interpretation and evaluation of seismic data for hydrocarbon exploration and production" - published by Springer,2016.

Ananda Gopal Pramanik during his professional career in ONGC served as Head GEOPIC, Dehradun and ED-CGS, ONGC. He also held the position of Patron & Advisor, SPG during 2002-2004.

DN Avasthi has over 50 years of professional experience, from project & general management to corporate planning and research. He retired from ONGC as a Member in the Board. He served as an adviser to the Department of Science & Technology on Earth Systems Science, and was a member of Research Council of National Geophysical Research Institute of CSIR, Government of India and of ONGC Energy Centre. During his career, he developed and successfully initiated seismic survey techniques in hills, mountains and areas of uneven topography, including multi-shot coverage of seismic profiles as early as in 1958. He was a part of discovery of oil and gas in Cauvery and Krishna – Godavari basins and in West Sobhasan in Cambay Basin, preparation of the First Development & Implementation Scheme for production from Bombay High discovery, rejuvenating Hydrocarbons India Ltd. now ONGC Videsh Ltd., a subsidiary of ONGC and taking up exploration and related projects abroad. Presently, he is President of SPS Consultants providing consultancy in projects related to petroleum exploration, unconventional and renewable energy resources. He is also serving as advisor in World Renewable Energy Technology Congress, World PetroCoal Congress and Geo Resources Technologies Consultancy (GRTC), Governing Body Member of Solar Energy Tribe.

Shri Vathyam Chandra Mohan, a Post Graduate in Applied Physics from Andhra University, joined ONGC in 1956 as a Geophysicist. He played a key role in data acquisition, processing, and interpretation, and conducted India's first VSP survey in 1959. Shri Mohan was instrumental in establishing ONGC’s first seismic data processing center at KDMIPE, Dehradun. Later, as Regional Director for Southern Region, he significantly contributed to enhancing crude oil and natural gas productivity, as well as advancing seismic surveys and deep drilling operations.

Born on May 30, 1938, Dr. Bimal Kumar Bose earned a Master of Science in Geophysics in 1959 from Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi, India, where he was the class-topper. He later obtained a Ph.D. in Geophysics from BHU in 1995. Dr. Bose joined the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) in 1959 as an Assistant Geophysicist. With a rare combination of scientific expertise and managerial skill, he advanced to become the Head of the Exploration Group at the Bombay Regional Business Centre of ONGC, where he retired in June 1996. Throughout his career, Dr. Bose received several corporate awards for his significant contributions to ONGC, published numerous papers in international journals, and authored the book "Architecturing Petroleum Exploration Investment and Efforts" in 1996.

Shri Anand Mohan Awasthi began his career in 1953 as an Assistant Geophysicist at Assam Oil Company after earning a Master's Degree in Geophysics from Banaras Hindu University, where he was awarded a Gold Medal. He joined Oil & Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) in 1956 as a Geophysicist. Shri Awasthi served as the Chief Supervisor for seismic exploration in Iraq and was a pioneer in introducing advanced Exploration Geophysics techniques at ONGC. An active member of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG), USA since 1954, he was honored with Emeritus Member status by the Society in 2001. Over his distinguished career spanning nearly five decades, Shri Awasthi made significant contributions in the domain of Hydrocarbon exploration in India.

Shri Kashi Nath Bhave joined Oil & Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) in 1956 as an Apprentice Geophysicist after earning his Master's degree in Physics from Agra University. Due to his exceptional technical expertise, management skills, and capabilities, he was chosen by ONGC to lead its first offshore seismic survey vessel, M.V. Anveshak, in 1975, where he played a pivotal role in acquiring marine-seismic and other geophysical data. In 1987, when ONGC expanded its in-house seismic data processing capabilities by establishing the Geodata Processing and Interpretation Centre (GEOPIC) in Dehradun, Shri Bhave was again selected to lead the centre. He has made numerous significant contributions to the field of Petroleum Geophysics throughout his distinguished career.