With the right capabilities, technical knowledge, manpower and infrastructure like ports, pipelines and product transportation facilities, India has the potential to become a global hub for refining and petrochemicals said Tarun Kapoor, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) speaking at the fifth edition of India Refining Summit.   

With prices of crude oil constantly fluctuating in the market, storage is also an important element and as the sector moves forward, we should be able to create more storage within the country, commented Kapoor.  

The conference was inaugurated by chief guest Tarun Kapoor and was accompanied by R.K. Sabharwal, Chairman & Managing Director, Engineers India Ltd.; Bhaskar Jyoti Phukan, Director - Technical, Numaligarh Refinery Ltd. (NRL); and Vartika Shukla, Director - Technical, Engineers India Ltd. 

The two-day conference recognised India’s potential to become a global hub for the refining and petrochemicals industry converging 100 attendees that included decision makers, suppliers, policy makers and key stakeholders from the refining and petrochemical industry. 

Scheduled at a crucial time when Indian economy is witnessing green shoots of revival which will increase the need for oil and gas, the conference touched upon important topics like infrastructure, alternative fuel options, net zero carbon technologies and acceptance of digitalisation. 

Kapoor also felicitated, industry veteran R. K. Sabharwal, Chairman & Managing Director, Engineers India Limited with the “Lifetime Achievement Award” for his valuable contribution to the growth and development of the industry. 

Talking about future of refining and petrochemicals sector, Vartika Shukla, Director - Technical, Engineers India Limited said, “The growth of petrochemicals is one and a half times of GDP that means we stand at a growth rate of over 12% enhancement with Nafta, LPG and jet fuels accounting for the maximum growth rate all through 2040. When we look at futuristic technologies of directly converting crude to petrochemicals, the percentage of COTC technologies might go up from 40% to 70%.” 

“While India’s demand for gasoline and diesel remains robust and hydrogen is the fuel of the future. The target today, of the whole research fraternity is towards the development of net zero carbon technologies and solutions and to achieve this goal, the sector is looking forward to the production of green hydrogen which is a clean source of fuel, is energy intensive and highly versatile,” added Shukla.  

Purav Bhatt, Lead Digitalisation, Asia Remote Services and Asset Management, Siemens said, “The customers and suppliers are together working towards the integration of digital transformation in the sector. The solutions that I specifically was interested in were remote monitoring solutions and the digital twin which was expressed by every speaker at the platform; directing towards a positive sign of sharing a common goal.” 

Though India has a lot of refining capacity, Indian refiners do need to improve in certain areas like energy use, reliability, volume expansion index that allows companies to sell lighter diesel and alternative power fuel options. The new refineries need to have higher complexity to provide better value additions to petrochemicals.