HISTORY OF ESSAR OIL

1989

• Essar Oil Limited was incorporated as a Public Limited Company under the Companies Act, 1956 on
12th September, with the main objective to provide Development, Exploration, Production and related
Services in the oil & gas sector

• The main promoters of Essar Oil Limited are Essar Investments Limited, Essar Shipping Limited,
South India Shipping Company Limited, Essar Gujarat Limited and a foreign co-promoter, Prime
Finance Company Limited, and other NRI's associates and friends.

• EOL was engaged in preliminary activities relating to bidding for oil & gas fields as well as advising
the Energy and Offshore divisions of Essar Gujarat Limited on technical matters relating to their
operations.

1990

• The Exploration and Production Division was set up for the purpose of Oil & Gas exploration activities

1992

• The Company is presently divided into three main divisions comprising of Energy, Offshore and
Exploration & Production divisions and is in the process of setting up a new Refinery division.

• The Company has India's largest private sector fleet of drilling rigs. The Energy Division has drilled
the deepest well in Asia to the depth of 6700 Mtrs. in Himachal Pradesh.

1993

• EOL is the first drilling Company in India to secure international drilling contracts against international
competitive bidding.

• EOL has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with UOP Inter Americana, USA (UOP), for
providing major process technologies.

1994

• In June, the Board of Essar Gujarat Limited proposed to transfer the entire shareholding of Essar Oil
Limited to Essar Investments Limited (hereinafter referred to as `EIL') for various business and
strategic reasons.
• EOL has entered into an MOU with Essar Gulf for the supply of crude oil to EOL in the event of
decanalisation of crude imports, at market based prices, as per principles and procedures to be
mutually agreed at a later date.

1995

• EOL has entered into a contract with Essar Gulf FZE (Essar Gulf), a company based in UAE for
supply of imported equipment

• EOL has entered into a contract with Essar Projects Limited a group company, for supply of
indigenous Equipment and Materials and for construction and erection of all Equipment at site.

• The Company entered into an MOU with Government owned public sector oil company, Indian Oil
Corporation Limited for marketing and distribution of its products.

• The energy division has made entry into Qatar with a three year contract from Qatar General
Petroleum Corporation for our deep Rig.

1997

• Essar Oil has joined the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL).

• Essar Oil Ltd has decided to hike its petroleum refinery capacity at Vadinar in Gujarat from nine
million tonnes to 10.5 million tonnes.

• Essar Oil, the Essar oil company, has recently been awarded the exploration rights for two new oil
blocks, the Cambay basin and the Cachar.

• The Exploration and production (E&P) division of the company has also signed production sharing
contracts for three more exploration blocks-two onshore blocks in Rajasthan and one offshore in the
Mumbai offshore basin.

• Essar Oil is the first and only Indian company to enter the international market for contract drilling
services through its energy division.

• Essar Oil has also entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with IOC where the oil-PSU
will market the products from the Vadinary oil refinery.

• Kandla Port Trust (KPT) has entered into an agreement with Essar Oil Limited for setting up major
facilities for handling POL, under the existing schemes of private participation.

• Essar Oil Ltd and Reliance Petroleum Ltd have sought 13 per cent equity each in a proposed pipeline
joint venture.
1998

• The Ruias-owned Essar Oil (EOL) has forged alliances with three foreign oil companies
and Hindustan Oil Exploration Company (HOEC) for joint exploration activities in the country.

• The company has initiated a marketing agreement with the public-sector Indian Oil
Corporation (IOC), according to which, 50 per cent of the offtake from the refinery would be
through IOC, and the balance through BPCL.

1999

• Essar Oil has unveiled plans to raise the capacity of its refinery to over 21 million tonnes
a year. The refinery will produce aviation turbine fuel (ATF), high speed diesel, superior kerosene
oil, naphtha and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

• Essar Oil's delayed equity payment in Petronet India's Vadinar-Kandla pipeline could
adversely affect the schedule of debt disbursement for the project.

• Crisil downgraded Rs 765-crore (Rs 7.65 billion) worth of non-convertible debenture

issues of Essar Oil to C from BB plus as the company had not tied up funds for a project.

• Essar Oil and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) have hired

PriceWaterhouseCoopers and SBI Caps to independently evaluate the Ruias-promoted refinery
and expedite the process of the latter buying an equity stake in the company.

2001

• IDBI approves for restarting the work at Essar oil refinery project at Vadinar, Gujarat

• ONGC, Essar and Reliance receives authorisation from government to sell petrol and
diesel

2003

• Asks Petroleum Ministry to intervene for completion and start of its vadinar project and
asks for equity participation in the project by unwilling IOC.

• Shareholders approve for the arrangement of sale of Energy Division to Bin Jabr group
Ltd, an oil and gas service provider based in Abu Dhabi.

• Shri E B Desai, Director and Shri P S Teckchandani, Wholetime Director retire from their
respective offices and ceases to be the director.

• The delay in completing the project compelles the company for the payment of interest to
its debenture holders.
 • Finally persuades its lenders to agree on the financial revamping for its 10.5m tonne
refinery project at Jamnagar.

• Concludes the sale of its energy division to Abu Dhabi for a total consideration of $0.6m.

• Asks debenture holders to wait for 22 years more to take back their money.

• Started marketing imported products. The first consignment of imported HSD already
arrives.

• Gets corporate debt restructuring groups approval to restart its vadinar project.

• Sets up its first retail outlet at Devrukh in Ratnagiri District of Maharashtra.

• The company has bagged a tender for diesel supplies to the Bangalore Metropolitan
Transport Corporation (BMTC), which runs a fleet of 2,959 buses in the garden city.

• Essar Oil Ltd and Castrol India Ltd on December 11, 2004, signed an agreement for sale
of Castrol lubricants through Essar Oil fuel outlets throughout the country

2005

• Essar Oil inks deal with Myanmar for exploration

2006

• Essar Oil joins hand with US firm for CBM exploration

2007

• Essar Oil mulls to raise $100mn via ECB

2009

• Essar Oil inked a Product Sale, Purchase and Infrastructure Sharing MoU with Indian Oil
Corporation.