Petroleum Minister inaugurates 2nd IndianOil Gas Conclave
New Delhi 22-Mar-2016
Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Petroleum and Natural Gas,
along with Mr. KD Tripathi, Secretary, MoP&NG; Mr. B Ashok, Chairman, IndianOil; Mr. D Sen, Director (Planning & Business Development), IndianOil; and Mr. Deepak Mahurkar, Leader, Oil & Gas PWC.
Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, addressing the gathering.
New Delhi, March 22, 2016: Indian Oil Corporation's 2nd Gas Conclave was inaugurated by Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, here today in the presence of Mr. KD Tripathi, Secretary, MoP&NG; Mr. B Ashok, Chairman, IndianOil; Mr. D Sen, Director (Planning & Business Development), IndianOil; and several other industry luminaries.
Addressing a gathering of over 400 delegates representing the gas sector, Shri Pradhan expressed confidence that India will achieve the target of 10% reduction in import dependence in oil & gas by the year 2022. He said that natural gas will play a major role in achieving this target. Shri Pradhan said that the Government has already taken a number of policy initiatives in the sector that would unlock a large quantity of hydrocarbons.
The Minister said that India is a growth story, its energy consumption is increasing and without energy security, there can be no development. He said that gas is the fuel of the future and India is taking steps to boost exploration & production in this area. He said that the Government is working with public sector oil companies to bring in start-up fund for the oil & gas industry, which would further boost innovative ideas in the sector.
Shri Dharmendra Pradhan said that the country is committed to reducing the carbon footprint by 30-35% by the year 2030. To achieve this, the Government is promoting the use of clean fuels like natural gas. He said the gas sector has to be developed through participation by all stakeholders. The Minister said the Government is committed to balanced growth and new pipelines are being laid for this purpose in eastern India, which will boost the availability of gas in the under-developed parts of the country.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. KD Tripathi, Secretary (Petroleum & Natural Gas), said that India’s economy is growing and there are ample opportunities to be seized. He called upon all the stakeholders to contribute and ensure sustainable gas at affordable rates.
Mr. B Ashok, Chairman, IndianOil, in his address mentioned that natural gas is finding more acceptance in the Indian market and is expected to rise multifold in the coming years. He said that IndianOil entered into gas marketing in the year 2004, and, as one of the co-promoters of Petronet LNG Ltd. (PLL), which set up an LNG terminal at Dahej that year, took up the challenge of marketing 30% of the product available from a long-term agreement signed between PLL and RasGas. The Corporation has also booked an additional 1.5 million tonnes per annum capacity in the terminal.
Mr. Ashok said that, in a span of a little more than 10 years, IndianOil's gas business has grown from 0.67 million tonnes per annum to 3.5 million tonnes per annum of Regassified LNG (R-LNG). The Corporation has now embarked upon setting up its first state-of-the-art onshore LNG import terminal of 5 MMTPA capacity at Ennore, near Chennai, with a provision to scale it up to 10 MMTPA, he added.
Welcoming the gathering, Mr. D Sen, Director (Planning & Business Development), IndianOil, said that the Corporation has always stood for change in the gas business and has opposed all moves to stall the development of the sector by way of litigation or unreasonable demands. We stand for customer rights and offer ethical and suitable terms to our customers, he added.
Eminent speakers, including Mr. S Krishnan, former Chairman of Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board; Dr. B Mohanty, Member, PNGRB; Mr. RS Butola and Mr. S Behuria, former Chairmen, IndianOil; Mr. Subir Purkayastha, Director (Finance), GAIL; Mr. Nicholas Browne, Senior Research Manager, Wood Mackenzie; Mr. Richard Baylis, Director (LNG), Uniper Global; Dr. Mike Peters, Regional Manager (Asia-Pacific), Shell; Mr. Vikas Kaushal, MD & Country Head, AT Kearney; Mr. Akhil Mehrotra, Director-Downstream Business, BG India; Mr. Uday Kiran, VP (LNG Business Development), Engie; and many other experts addressed the conclave. PWC were the knowledge partners for the event, which had participation from over 10 countries.
