Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Friday called for increasing indigenous production of crude oil through strong R&D efforts to ensure energy security of the country. He was delivering the convocation address at the first convocation ceremony of the Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy (IIPE), in Visakhapatnam.
Highlighting ‘Atma Nirbharta’ (self-reliance), Mr. Naidu said there should be more focus on increasing domestic exploration of petroleum, harnessing the full potential of renewable sources and aiming for excellence and innovation in the energy industry.
Mr. Naidu pointed out that India was the world’s third-largest consumer of crude oil and yet import-dependent for more than 80% of its needs. He underlined the importance of increasing production, not only to save foreign exchange but also to ensure energy security. He noted various policy reforms of the government such as the Hydrocarbon Exploration Licensing Policy (HELP) is aimed at increasing exploration in new sedimentary basins.
He pointed out that IIPE is a dedicated university for petroleum research and was recognized as an Institution of National Importance in 2017 through an Act of Parliament. “This institute is also one of the promises made during the bifurcation of the State,” he said.
Mr. Naidu said that ‘India’s primary energy demand is expected to grow at an average rate of more than 3% till 2045 as compared to less than 1% growth for the rest of the world.’
He called upon IIPE and other energy institutes to bridge the supply gap of skilled manpower for the petroleum sector and build stronger industry-institute linkages with the prominent market players.
He also suggested encouraging Ph.D. students to undertake research on problems faced by the industry and thus ‘bring a multi-disciplinary approach into academic research, which is also the aim of National Education Policy 2020.’
He also said that the country was blessed with ample renewable sources such as solar, wind and tidal power, and suggested tapping of these sources to reduce the use of fossil fuels. And this is where such specialised institutes can play a major role, he said.
Earlier, Prof. V.S.R.K. Prasad, the director of IIPE, in his address said that the convocation was held for two batches at a time and about 170 students will be given away their B. Tech degrees in petroleum engineering and chemical engineering.
Mr. Naidu gave away the gold medals to recipients. The gold medal winners were Kandala Viswakanth, Bhamidipati Sai Harsha, Vaibhav Sharma, Dangeti Sree Karthik, Abhinav Tiwari and Konala Reshma Reddy.
Addressing the convocation, Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Rameswar Teli, said that efforts are on to decrease the dependency on crude imports by promoting ethanol blending.
We are now working to extract ethanol from rice, sugarcane and bamboo. This will not only save foreign exchange but the farmers also will get a better income.
President Board of Governors, IIPE, Prof. P.K. Banik, said the institute is focussing on research in green energy and urged to teachers to encourage research.
Seediri Appala Raju, Andhra Pradesh Minister for Animal Husbandry and Fisheries & Dairies Development, Vice Chancellors of various Universities, other dignitaries and the graduating students participated in the event.
