Workshop on "Energy Efficiency Enhancement in Refineries under PAT Scheme"
TERI, in collaboration with BEE, GIZ and PCRA organized a workshop on "Energy Efficiency Enhancement in Refineries under PAT Scheme" at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi on July 5, 2016. Under the Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) second cycle, 18 petroleum refineries having a cumulative energy consumption of 18.5 MTOE have been notified as Designated Consumers under the PAT. The PAT scheme imposes stringent regulations on refineries to decrease the use of fossil fuels as the target is to reduce 1.10 MTOE of energy consumption.
The IEE division of TERI had recently conducted a detailed energy audit of BPCL refinery in Kochi. It helped in developing an understanding of the operating practices and energy consumption pattern of the refinery as well as identifying energy conservation opportunities and potential. The workshop aimed to disseminate the learnings from the Kochi refinery audit as well as to discuss the challenges and opportunities for enhancing energy efficiency in refineries. The workshop brought together all key stakeholders (MoP, BEE, MoPNG, PCRA, public/private refineries, process experts, energy consultants) at one platform to discuss the opportunities for energy savings in refineries.
Mr K D Tripathi, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, GoI was the chief guest at the occasion. Inaugurating the workshop he said "Improving the efficiency of energy use has been our ministry's priority. We have been taking steps to promote conservation of petroleum products in transport, industrial, agricultural and domestic sectors as well as promoting In-House energy conservation In Upstream and Refining Sectors". He further added that the recent revival in growth of the industrial sector and softening of international prices of crude oil can lead to an increased demand for petroleum products. This means that the refineries need to produce more and simultaneously also cut their energy costs.
The Inaugural session was followed by a technical session on Implementation of PAT Scheme in Refineries: Challenges and Opportunities. The technical session was chaired by Mr Brijesh Kumar, Executive Director, Centre for High Technology, Noida. Dr G R Narasimha Rao, Director, IEED, TERI presented the learning and outcomes from recently conducted comprehensive energy audit study at Kochi Refinery. This set the tone for discussions during the technical session. The workshop resulted in fruitful discussions among key stakeholders on achieving or maintaining the assigned targets set for the DCs under PAT scheme.
Other key personalities present during the workshop included Mr Nilkanth S. Ahvad, Executive Director, PCRA, Dr Ajay Mathur, Director General, TERI, and Mr Milind Deore, Energy Economist from BEE.