GUWAHATI: Assam Governor Gulab Chand Kataria inaugurated Saksham-2023, which is an awareness campaign for the conservation of petroleum products, at the Madhavdev International Auditorium on Monday.
It may be noted that, as part of Saksham, the Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA), under the aegis of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, has been organizing a campaign to sensitize consumers about energy conservation efforts in the country since 1978. Over the past 30 years, PCRA and the oil marketing companies have helped consumers in different sectors such as transport, industry, agriculture, and households realize energy conservation to a great extent.
Speaking on the occasion, Governor Kataria said, “While our country is the third largest consumer of energy in the world after China and the USA, our third source of energy basket grossly consists of petroleum products, which are diminishing at a very fast rate. While we are recognizing and adopting measures to increase our dependence on renewable energy sources, the demand for petroleum products as a source of energy is still growing.”
The governor also said that India has a huge deficit in crude oil production compared to its consumption pattern. As per figures for 2022–23, the country consumed about 214 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) of petroleum products and has a refining capacity of just over 249 MMTPA. Thus, the country is depending heavily on import of crude oil to meet the energy demand of the country. For the state of Assam, though the state has sufficient refining capacity with the four refineries put together and the capacity will be further ramped up, crude oil for Bongaigaon Refinery has been sourced through import.
The governor, however, said that it has become imperative for everybody to devise ways and means of reducing the country’s dependence on imported energy. The Governor hailed the efforts of PCRA and public sector oil and gas companies for undertaking intensive conservation awareness campaigns among the masses throughout the country. He also appealed to all concerned to actively participate in this great cause and transform the campaign into a way of life.
Executive Director IOCL G. Ramesh, State Head-Retail, North East, BPCL Pankaj Das, Sr. Depot Manager, HPCL-Guwahati Rahul Kumar Singh, GM (Lubes), IOCL Vineet Kaul, students from different schools, and a host of other dignitaries were also present at the inaugural function, stated a press release.
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