RAM NAIK ASKS SCIENTISTS TO SUGGEST
MEASURES FOR INDIA ATTAINING LEADERSHIP IN OIL SECTOR
Shri Ram Naik, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, has said
that efforts should be made so that country attains position of
leadership in the area of commercial exploitation of gas hydrates
on the lines of India’s standing in the information technology.
Shri Naik was speaking here today at the 55th meeting
of the Petroleum Ministry’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Hydrocarbons.
Underlining the great potential of gas hydrates in the Indian
off-shore, particularly around Andaman & Nicobar Islands,
Shri Naik called upon the Committee to deliberate and suggest
measures for development of gas hydrates in the country. He suggested
that the present decade should be observed as "Gas Hydrates Decade"
in view of its significant potentials for meeting country’s hydrocarbon
needs.
Posing another challenge to the Scientists and
Technologists to find solution to the problem of plastic wastes,
Shri Ram Naik called for utilising plastic waste for conversion
into value-added petroleum products. This has the potential to
benefit and has become a challenge to the whole world as plastic
waste is causing immense harm to the environment. Asking the Scientific
community to take it as a challenge, the Minister informed that
IOC R&D Centre has already done good work in this regard by
promoting the research of Dr. Alka Zadgaonkar of Nagpur and is
in the process of setting up a Pilot Project. He further emphasised
that the Committee should deliberate and advise on issues and
challenges which are confronting the hydrocarbon sector when our
economy is leaping ahead to become the third largest economy of
the world. The biggest challenge before the country is to find
more oil and gas for self-sufficiency and oil security as we imported
69 per cent of our requirement of 115 million tonnes at a huge
cost of Rs. 84,400 crore during 2002-03.
Speaking on the occasion, Petroleum Secretary
Shri B.K. Chaturvedi called upon the Committee to find ways and
means through their research and studies for cost reduction in
producing fuels matching Euro-III & IV norms. This quality
of fuels would require huge investment in refineries, therefore,
a reduction of about 20 per cent would bring substantial benefit
to the oil sector. He also pointed out that the Government is
working on the possibility of gas-to-liquid projects as the potential
of significant availability of gas appears on horizon.
Prof. M.M. Sharma who chaired the Committee since
1981 (inception) to 2001, barring a three years period, was felicitated
on the occasion. In between from 1990-93, another luminary of
hydrocarbon industry late Shri Lovraj Kumar headed the Committee.
The Committee is presently being chaired by Dr. R.A. Mashelkar
who is one of the most renowned scientists in the country. For
the first time, Shri Naik informed the Committee has a member
from the private sector in Dr. Sumit Bahaduri, Head R&D of
Reliance Industries. The Committee provided expert guidance for
establishing and modernisation of several Research Centres in
the country. It laid emphasis on development of indigenous technologies
which resulted in development and commercialisation of several
technologies. These include aromatic extraction, production of
food grade hexane, production of lube oil base stocks, etc.
