Anosh Neterwala, vice-chairman of the Neterwala Group, talks to The Energy Year about remaining ahead of the competition through in-house R&D and plans to bundle environmental services with oil and gas offerings to drive sustainability.
Neterwala is a diversified business group with interests in metallurgy, oil and gas, chemicals and engineering.
- Data-driven services are becoming an important growth engine for oilfield services providers in India. While traditional segments still dominate business volumes, the fastest growth is coming from data-intensive services such as mud logging and surface data monitoring as operators demand more real-time insights and data integration to reduce risks and optimise performance.
- Smaller players are gaining ground by developing in-house hardware and software that allow for faster and tighter customisation to the complex geological conditions that characterise many domestic reservoirs.
- Operators are increasingly seeking to embed sustainability measures in their oil and gas operations, encouraging oilfield equipment and services providers to develop systems that can simultaneously improve margins and lower environmental impact.
Which divisions within the Neterwala Group are currently driving the most growth?
Historically, the group operated through nine independent companies across different sectors. As the scale and complexity of operations increased, we consolidated the businesses into verticals to unlock synergies and improve capital efficiency. Today, we operate through three core verticals: metallurgy, engineering – which includes oil and gas services and data systems – and a newly established environmental vertical.
By bringing our metals businesses under a single vertical, we doubled growth over a five-year period. We are now applying the same approach across our non-metal businesses to improve growth and long-term value creation.
While metallurgy continues to contribute the largest share of revenue due to its scale, our oil and gas services division is currently the fastest-growing business. We are the clear market leader in mud logging in India, and with a strong domestic foundation, our next phase of expansion is international. We already operate across Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan and Algeria and are now sharpening our focus on Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia as a priority market.
What opportunities are you pursuing in the Middle East?
We have maintained a strong presence in the GCC for decades, particularly in surface data logging and oil well monitoring, where we work closely with NOCs through long-term, multi-well service contracts. We are now introducing additional offerings into the region, including reformer tubes, online steam audits and advanced engineering solutions.
Saudi Arabia represents a significant growth opportunity across multiple businesses. While we already have a footprint in the region, much of the market remains untapped for our broader suite of technologies and services, and we see strong alignment with regional priorities.
How do you compete with global oilfield services majors?
Our oilfield services company, Oil Field Instrumentation (OFI), competes through differentiation rather than scale. All our hardware and software systems are developed in-house, which gives us exceptional flexibility, faster response times and the ability to customise solutions for specific geological and operational conditions.
We also bring deep, long-standing experience in lithology data management across India. This expertise is now being leveraged to develop subsurface models that enable drillers to anticipate formation changes, reduce drilling risks, optimise planning and save costs.
By retaining equipment maintenance, system development and technical expertise in-house, we maintain tight control over quality and reliability. OFI is widely recognised as a training ground for geologists and engineers, allowing us to sustain a high skill quotient and support operators directly, while also delivering outsourced services for leading integrated project management players.
Are acquisitions part of your growth strategy?
Selective acquisitions are part of our roadmap, provided they align with our long-term strategy, complement our existing capabilities, create meaningful synergies and strengthen our core competencies. In metallurgy, we are evaluating opportunities in the US and Europe. In oil and gas, our focus is on small, niche companies offering high-value data capabilities or environmental technologies.
We recently rebranded the group to better reflect our consolidated structure and collective strength. Previously, operating in silos limited collaboration and growth. Today, our identity reflects a more integrated organisation, while preserving what has always defined us, namely, niche technology leadership and a people-first culture.
What stands out in your environmental division?
The environmental division is a pillar of the group’s long-term vision. We are piloting intelligent steam audit solutions across Indian refineries, where they have demonstrated the ability to reduce steam leakage from up to 20% in some cases to as low as 1%. Depending on the scale and configuration of the refinery, this can translate into annual fuel savings as high as double-digit millions of US dollars. These solutions also deliver meaningful carbon reductions, adding environmental value to the economic gains.
We also provide environmental monitoring services covering soil, water, stack emissions and air quality across the oil and gas value chain, with plans to expand into advisory services that help clients act on the insights generated from this data. In addition, we operate small-scale biogas, effluent and sewage treatment and solid waste management systems for industry and for communities in India.
Looking ahead, we want to bundle environmental solutions with our oil and gas offerings, enabling clients to advance sustainability objectives while improving efficiency.
Beyond commercial considerations, this division reflects our commitment to building a future-ready organisation that aligns industrial excellence with environmental responsibility and innovation. By doing so, we seek to inspire the next generation of professionals to engage with energy and help shape a more sustainable and progressive industry.