Sukla Mistry breaks glass ceiling, takes over as 1st woman Director on Indian Oil Board

New Delhi: Sukla Mistry has taken over as Director (Refineries) of Indian Oil on February 7, 2022. Mistry is the first woman functional Director on the Indian Oil Board. She will also be holding the positions of Director on the board of Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) and the 60 MMTPA Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemical Limited, the world's largest grass root refinery project coming up in Maharashtra. She will continue to hold the post of Non-Executive Director on the Board of IHBL, a joint venture company of three leading oil and gas Central PSUs.

Mistry as Director (Refineries) of Indian Oil shall spearhead the business and operations of nine refineries and petrochemical plants of Indian Oil. With a robust Refineries Division, Indian Oil (including its group companies) remains the nation's top refiner with a group refining capacity of 80.55 million tonnes per annum (1.64 million barrels per day).

Mistry is a metallurgical engineer from Bengal Engineering College, Calcutta University. Mistry also holds an advanced diploma in Management from ICFAI and certification in Industrial Radiography & Ultrasonic Non-destructive testing.

Prior to taking over as Director (Refineries), she was heading Indian Oil's 6.0 MMTPA Barauni Refinery in Begusarai District, Bihar, as the only woman Executive Director & Refinery Head, leading an Indian Oil refinery. Some of the major achievements under her tenure have been the implementation of the mega BS-VI projects, the roll-out of BS-VI grade fuel from the refinery much before its stipulated timeline, supply of ethanol-blended MS & XP-100 MS, setting-up of Continuous Catalytic Reforming Unit by sourcing reformates from other refineries, thereby increasing the GRM of the refinery.

Mistry is also the first woman in Indian Oil to hold the position of Executive Director & Refinery Head of an Indian Oil refinery unit, first at Digboi Refinery (Assam) from January 1, 2018 to February 7, 2019, which is the oldest operating refinery in Asia, and then later at Barauni Refinery. At Digboi Refinery, Mistry played a key role in the maximisation of value-added products like Rhino wax brand by 25 percent and commissioning of IOC's Golai Marketing Terminal. Under her tenure, Digboi Refinery became the only and first-ever refinery in the country to bag the Special TPM Award from the Japan Institute of Productive Management.  

Mistry was the only Indian woman selected for deputation to Qatar Petroleum (at Qatar site) way back in April 2004 (April 3, 2004 – March 31, 2006) and Emirates National Oil Company (Dubai) in March 2002 for the execution of the mega Linear Alkaline Benzene Project and plant turn-around inspection respectively.

With over 35 years of extensive experience in refining and petrochemicals operation, she has also been a key part of the prestigious team that set up India's largest Naphtha Cracker Complex, including its captive power plant and Styrene Butadiene Rubber Project of Indian Synthetic Rubber Private Limited at Panipat Refinery. The Styrene Butadiene Rubber Project received the best infrastructure project award from Dun & Bradstreet in 2015.

Mistry's rich contribution to the oil & gas industry has earned her prestigious awards like the recent ET Prime Women Manufacturing & Operations Leadership Award-2021, SCOPE Excellence Award for Outstanding Woman Manager among PSEs (2016-17), Petrotech Ojaswini Award-2016, Petrofed Best Woman Executive Award-2009, and National Petroleum Management Programme Best Woman Executive Award-2000, among several others. She has been an active participant at prestigious conferences like World Petroleum Congress and CERA Week (USA).

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