The refiners have primary onus to provide energy security to this nation on growth trajectory and as well as fulfill the announcement & pronouncement of our Honourable Prime Minister to Net Zero by 2070. The need of the hour is that as process technologists, catalyst technologists, refinery process engineers, we need to instill the requisite flexibility in refining configurations. With the current diesel demand destruction, we are facing the challenge of how the configurations are going to deal with extra amount of diesel.

Dr SSV Ramakumar

Director (R&D), IndianOil

In last 25 years India has leapfrogged from 60 MMTPA to 250+ MMTPA capacity – almost 300% growth. Today, we do not ask merely for refining capacity but look for energy intensity index, carbon emission index, complexity, petrochemicals penetration, and personal efficiency index and so on. Net zero is no longer an aspirational goal but a necessity for the world and requires multipronged approach. At BPCL we have taken initiatives for improving energy efficiency, hydrogen management, implementation of biofuels and setting up renewable energy capacity.

Mr Sanjay Khanna

Director Refineries, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd

There has been 30% increase in refining capacity in last 20 years in spite of a drastic reduction of mobility requirement in Europe, because Asia and some of African countries are yet to get that growth. From 50 years ago, the complexity has increased from 5% to 8-10%. But the beauty of industry is there are few concentrated areas where if you put technology like carbon capture etc. you are able to bring down the energy at least by 30-40%. Beyond this to my understanding an economic way of technology is not yet available even though we are talking about the requirement all this time

Mr. Prasad Panicker

Director & Head of Refinery, Nayara Energy

Sustainability and profitability need not be mutually exclusive. The duel challenge of Hydrogen economy is meeting the increasing demand for CO2 resources from a growing population with increasing standard of living while also addressing sustainability. The hydrogen economy gives birth to massive benefits of digital solutions like accelerating economic analysis, design and operating with process and energy efficiency to maximize safety and also addressing the challenges that are required to improve market and innovative process efficiency.

Mr. Lawrence Ng

Vice President- APJ, AspenTech

To maintain a sustainable business, profitability and other measures also need to be taken so that we can enhance productivity as well as profitability. Digitization across the supply chain helps in optimization and also enhance excellence in operations. Growing demand for petrochemicals due to increased consumption but due to growing economics of our economics calls for the increase conversion from crude to chemicals from refinery not from the demand point but the interrogation from refinery to petrochemicals will have sustainability for the refinery operation.

Mr. B K Namdeo

Advisor, RRPCL