Hydrocarbon will be the most important source of energy for decades to come in India
New Delhi 07-Sep-2016
Mr. Ajay Sawhney, (IAS), Additional Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, inaugurating
the 20th Refinery Technology Meet at Gandhinagar (Gujarat) on September 7, 2016.
At the prestigious platform of top notch Indian and global technocrats of the global
refining sector, the other distinguished guests seen are Mr. Sandeep Poundrik,
IAS, Joint Secretary (Refineries), Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas,
Mr. Sanjiv Singh, Director (Refineries), Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.,
and Mr. Brijesh Kumar, Executive Director,
Centre for High Technology.
Hydrocarbons are likely to remain the most important source of energy for decades to come in India, despite other forms of energy like coal, renewable energy, etc. India is currently the fourth largest consumer of petroleum products in the world in spite of a very low per capita consumption, said Mr. Ajay Sawhney, (IAS), Additional Secretary, Ministry of Petroluem & Natural Gas, while inaugurating the 20th Refinery Technology Meet at Gandhinagar, Gujarat, today. Mr. Sawhney shared that under the visionary leadership of the Hon’ble Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, India has emerged as a bright spot in the global economy in last two years. The country’s annual growth rate is hovering around 7.6%, which is expected to rise even further. The government is committed towards achieving holistic, inclusive and sustainable high economic growth.
Mr. Sawhney also shared that one of the main commitments of the present Government is to provide affordable and reliable energy to all segments of the economy and society, including the common man of India. For this, he said the country needed research and innovation to make clean energy technology available, accessible and affordable for all. A challenge before the oil industry of India is to reduce import dependence of oil and gas by 10% by 2022 as part of the national developmental agenda. Mr. Sawhney added that India has developed cost effective yet modern and complex refining capacity. The recently commissioned state-of-the-art refinery by IndianOil at Paradip refinery showcases the indigenously developed INDMAX technology for maximising LPG and propylene. The Indian refining Industry has a rich portfolio of technologies can provide end-to-end solutions for most of the technologies for setting up a complex refinery on its own, but the opportunities are endless to innovate.
At the prestigious platform of top notch Indian and global technocrats of the global refining sector, the other distinguished speakers were Mr. Sandeep Poundrik, IAS, Joint Secretary (Refineries), Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas , and Mr. Sanjiv Singh, Director (Refineries), Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.
Mr. Sandeep Poundrik in his keynote address said that the Indian Refining industry has undergone a paradigm shift from deficit to being a refining hub and exporter of quality products worldwide. In terms of complexity, Indian refineries stand next to US. But the urgent emphasis is on development and realigning of technological options with the least carbon-footprints. Mr. Poundrik added that the challenge is to steadily shift the hydrocarbon sector from fossil to non-fossil sources. It is important to strengthen India’s energy security with alternative fuels developed on indigenously produced renewable feedstocks to substitute and supplement petro-based fuels. All these factors throw up both challenges and opportunities for the Indian refining industry.
Mr. Sanjiv Singh, Director (Refineries), IndianOil, shed light on the Indian refining landscape. Mr. Singh said, “The Indian Refining industry is the 4th largest in the world in terms of refining capacity., and is currently passing through a challenging phase with the stringent environmental stipulations, need for huge investments for upgrading fuel quality in line with the international trend, increasing concern for energy security, etc. In order to meet these challenges, there is an urgent need to explore and adopt innovative solutions to create and add value from the existing assets, improve process and energy efficiency, yield optimization, process integration, etc.” He added that the country is working fervently towards leapfrogging directly from BS-IV to Euro-VI equivalent Bharat Stage-VI norms by 1st April 2020 across the country which is a courageous step and no where any nation has taken such a dynamic initiative to implement Euro VI is such a short span.
Mr. Brijesh Kumar, Executive Director, Centre for High Technology, CEOs of Indian oil companies, unit heads of Indian refineries, representatives of global/Indian consultancy organisations, R&D and academic institutions, technology service providers, were part of the august gathering.
Notes to the Editor
About the Meet
“Value Creation through Innovative Solutions” is the theme of the three-day event, jointly organised by Centre for High Technology (CHT) and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., under the aegis of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India.
The Centre for High Technology (CHT), a satellite organisation of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India, in association with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., India's flagship national oil company, is organising the 20th Refinery Technology Meet from September 7-9th 2016 at “Mahatma Mandir Convention cum Exhibition Centre”, Gandhinagar.
The Refinery Technology Meet will deliberate on various critical aspects of the global energy scenario including: New/Breakthrough Process Technologies - Advances in Bottom Upgradation; Advances in Hydroprocessing and FCC; Strategies for Fuel Quality Upgradation; Bio-refining and Gasification; Hydrogen Management; Refinery Optimisation and Margin Improvement; Energy/Process Efficiency and Yield Improvement and Operational Excellence and Novel & Best Practices.
Around 180 technical papers and some interesting case studies are being presented by technical experts from refining sector from Indian and abroad.
On the sidelines of the event, an exhibition shall be showcasing a wide range of innovative technologies, products and services by reputed vendors, consultants and service providers like DuPont, Forbes Marshall, CRI, Linde, among others. A special stall has been set up to share information on the opportunities available at the mega event Petrotech-2016 to be held under the aegis of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas in December in New Delhi.
