GAIL (India) Limited has appointed Shri Manoj Kumar Sharma as Director (Projects), with Sharma assuming charge of the position on 19 September 2026, the company said.
Sharma joins GAIL with more than three decades of experience across the hydrocarbon infrastructure value chain, covering design and engineering, project management, procurement, construction management, operations and maintenance, business development, operational excellence and cost optimisation.
Before joining GAIL, Sharma served as Executive Director and Regional Head of Eastern Region Pipelines at Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL). In that role, he was responsible for operations and maintenance, construction and City Gas Distribution (CGD) activities across five states, with oversight of a pipeline network extending more than 5,700 km.
His previous responsibilities also included serving as Executive Director (Projects) in IOCL’s Pipelines Division, where he handled engineering, procurement and construction management for major crude oil, LPG and natural gas pipeline projects in India and overseas.
Sharma holds a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, specialising in Production and Industrial Engineering, from Delhi College of Engineering, as well as a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar.
His career has also included board-level responsibilities. He has served as a nominee director representing IOCL on the boards of GSPL India Transco Limited, GSPL India Gasnet Limited and Kochi Salem Pipeline Private Limited.
Project Execution at GAIL
Sharma’s appointment comes as GAIL continues to expand and operate infrastructure across India’s natural gas value chain. The company describes itself as an integrated energy major, with activities spanning natural gas transmission and marketing, LPG and liquid hydrocarbons, LPG transmission, petrochemicals, City Gas Distribution, LNG sourcing and regasification, renewable energy and upstream exploration and production.
GAIL currently operates a natural gas pipeline network of more than 18,600 km and accounts for around 65% of India’s natural gas transmission market, according to the company’s current corporate information. It also has a reported 48% share of India’s natural gas marketing market.
The company’s infrastructure portfolio has increasingly extended beyond conventional gas transmission. GAIL’s recent milestones include commissioning a 10 MW green hydrogen plant and a 5 tonnes-per-day compressed biogas (CBG) plant at Ranchi, alongside continued development of natural gas infrastructure.
The company has also identified renewable energy and emerging energy technologies as part of its broader portfolio. Its current corporate profile lists renewable energy initiatives alongside its established natural gas, LNG, LPG, petrochemical and exploration activities.
Against this backdrop, Sharma’s experience in large-scale pipeline project execution, construction management and operations provides relevant experience for GAIL’s infrastructure activities. His stated focus on innovation and emerging energy initiatives also aligns with the company’s broader expansion beyond its traditional natural gas businesses.
Bioenergy Business Analysis
Sharma’s appointment brings extensive project-execution and hydrocarbon infrastructure experience to GAIL’s senior management at a time when the company is operating across both established gas infrastructure and emerging energy areas. His previous responsibility for large pipeline networks and project engineering at IOCL is particularly relevant to an organisation with a natural gas transmission network exceeding 18,600 km.
For the bioenergy sector, GAIL’s existing CBG activity is an important part of this broader transition. The company’s commissioning of a 5 TPD CBG plant at Ranchi, alongside its green hydrogen and renewable-energy initiatives, indicates an expanding project portfolio beyond conventional natural gas. Sharma’s specific responsibilities for these emerging-energy activities have not been publicly detailed, so any direct connection between his appointment and a particular CBG, hydrogen or renewable-energy project would require further confirmation.
