Venkaiah calls for concerted efforts to achieve energy security

Visakhapatnam Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Friday called for all-out efforts to achieve energy security to reduce expenditure on import of petroleum products.

He was delivering the first convocation address of Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy (IIPE) here. Among others, Rameswar Teli, Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Seediri Appala Raju, Andhra Pradesh Minister for Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, Prof. P.K. Banik, President of the Board of Governors, IIPE, Prof. VSRK Prasad, Director, IIPE and Vice Chancellors of various universities, were present.

Calling for 'Atma Nirbharta' in the country's energy mix, Naidu suggested focussing more on increasing domestic exploration of petroleum, harnessing the full potential of renewable sources and aiming for excellence and innovation in the energy industry.

The Vice President said petroleum and its byproducts have played a critical role in propelling the progress of the world in modern times. From the discovery of the first oil reserves in Digboi, Assam in 1889, the industry has seen a phenomenal rise in India, greatly aiding the country's progress post-independence.

He said India today is the third-largest consumer of crude oil in the world. While petroleum comprises an important component of India's energy mix, the country is still import-dependent for more than 80 percent of oil needs. It is indeed important to focus on increasing indigenous crude oil production and reducing imports to not only save precious foreign exchange but also to ensure energy security.

Naidu observed that with increasing population, urbanization and industrialization, the use of petroleum products is only expected to increase. For India, the primary energy demand is expected to grow at an average rate of more than 3 percent till 2045 as compared to less than 1 percent growth for the rest of the world.

This highlights the importance of local exploration of petroleum and shifting to alternative sources. To this end, the government's policy reforms such as Hydrocarbon Exploration Licensing Policy (HELP) aims at increasing domestic production, liberalizing exploration of new sedimentary basins, including ultra-deepwater blocks.

The Vice President said in this quest for 'Atma Nirbharta' in energy security, institutions like IIPE have a central role to play. As a dedicated university for petroleum research, IIPE should take the lead in two aspects: One, in bridging the supply gap of skilled manpower for the petroleum sector and two, to aim for excellence in research of petroleum and its by-products. It was thus duly recognized as an Institution of National Importance in 2017, and IIPE should live up to that expectation in the years ahead.

Stating that India is blessed with ample renewable sources such as solar, wind and tidal power, the Vice President suggested fully tapping the potential of these sources of energy as part of the efforts to reduce the use of fossil fuels.

To achieve this, he suggested institutes specialising in energy should also seek to diversify their portfolio and take up projects which have a component of renewable energy research. "Even a tiny improvement in the efficiency of harnessing green sources will deliver great benefits of scale to our economy and ecology", he noted.

The Vice President expressed confidence that IIPE will show the way forward by becoming an exemplar in the domain of energy research. He appreciated the efforts of the administration and complimented the graduating students for their achievements. The Vice President presented awards to the gold medalists from the batches of 2016-20 and 2017-21.