Naresh K. Nayyar, director business development of Indian Oil Corporation (IndianOil), will take over as the new CEO of ONGC-Mittal Energy Ltd (OMEL).

Nayyar, who resigned from IndianOil Tuesday, would take charge of the newly formed joint venture of state owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and global steel major L.N. Mittal Group within the next few weeks, official sources told.

To be based in London, OMEL's main focus would be the acquisition of oil and gas assets overseas.

The groups' joint effort prior to the formation of the new company had met with disappointment when, despite a winning bid, the partners lost out to the Chinese in the race to get stakes of Canada's PetroKazakhstan in Kazakhstan.

S.K. Sharma, executive director of international trade at the state-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), was recently named as executive head of another joint venture, ONGC-Mittal Energy Services Ltd (OMESL).

OMESL would primarily focus on trading and handling of shipping and other logistics of oil and gas, including what is sourced through OMEL.