Under the aegis of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, a media-connect was organised recently at Bharat Petroleum’s Research & Development (R&D) division at Greater Noida. Shri P S Ravi, Executive Director (Corporate Entities), BPCL; Shri B L Newalkar, Chief General Manager (R&D), BPCL; Shri R K Voolapalli, Chief General Manager I/c (R&D), BPCL and Shri S A Akhtar, Chief General Manager (PR & Branding), BPCL addressed the media in presence of Shri Rajeev Kumar Jain, ADG (PIB), MoP&NG & MoHUA.
BPCL, with its state-of-the-art facilities, major products, and strategic focus areas is contributing to its business growth through innovative, sustainable, and environmentally friendly technological solutions, establishing itself as a renowned research center attracting the brightest minds across the world.
BPCL R&D’s achievements are reflected in its impressive track record. Over the years, the division has achieved remarkable milestones, including 164 Patents filed for cutting-edge innovations, 87 Patents granted across multiple countries, 17 Technologies/products commercialized and over 230+ Scientific papers and Book chapters. Notable innovations include the development of “Green Silica” from rice straw-based 2G Bio-refinery ash, compostable biomaterials, and Superabsorbent Polymer (SAP) products.
Aligned with Bharat Petroleum’s sustainability agenda and Net Zero Mission, BPCL R&D has undertaken initiatives like the Diesel-Ethanol blend to reduce emissions. The division’s digital advancements and collaborations with renowned institutions have fostered the knowledge economy and innovation culture.
Highlighting Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of global clean energy revolution in India, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri had recently stated that, “Under the visionary leadership of Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi, BPCL is remarkably pushing the boundaries of technology and sustainability through its cutting-edge R&D initiatives. I congratulate the team BPCL for continuous pursuit for excellence, contributing significantly to India’s energy landscape and reinforce our position as a global leader in innovation.”
Shri G. Krishnakumar, Chairman & Managing Director, BPCL, said, “With ‘Energising Lives’ as our core purpose, our mission is leveraging talent, innovation & technology and always being the first choice of customers.Our dynamic R&D team, brimming with creativity, has successfully developed a multitude of cutting-edge technologies, innovative products and processes that have not only increased our profitability but also significantly reduced our environmental footprint”.
Addressing the media fraternity through web, Shri Sanjay Khanna, Director (Refineries), BPCL, stated that, “Refiners often process mix of crude oils, for which accurate assay is not available on real-time basis. Variations in crude quality as well as lack of reliable crude assay information makes the task of real-time optimization extremely challenging if not impossible”.
Thanking the august media fraternity for making the media-connect a grand success by turning out in full strength and the BPCL team for organising such a knowledge sharing interaction, Shri Rajeev Jain, ADG (PIB), MoP&NG said, “The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is committed to accelerating exploration and production activities in the Country for Energy Access, Efficiency, Sustainability, and Security. Oil and gas PSUs have set net zero emissions goals, showing the industry’s commitment to sustainability.
BPCL-R&D has also achieved a significant milestone in the digital space. It has developed two novel technologies, namely the K Model for crude compatibility and BPMARRK® for quick and accurate real-time crude assay. BPCL is the only company at the global level to achieve this milestone in the oil and gas sector. Recently, a collaboration agreement was inked with the world leader in Refinery Software business, M/s Aspen Technology Inc. USA, to provide a unique solution to the refinery world for real-time monitoring and optimization of refinery units, along with BPCL BPMARRK® software.
To address India’s import dependency for gas, which currently caters to 50% of the country’s 44MMTPA gas demand, BPCL-R&D is working on the development of an energy-efficient PNG burner. Notably, BPCL-R&D has successfully developed a PNG burner with an efficiency of 70%, surpassing the reported 55% efficiency so far. The plan is to conduct a pilot and roll out the energy-efficient PNG stove during FY 2023-24, contributing to a reduction in import dependency.