"I am very happy to participate in the Foundation Stone laying ceremony of the Assam Centre of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology. During my last visit to Assam, I had announced the intention of our Government to set up this Centre. I believe the establishment of the Centre would be a testimony to our continuing commitment to the development of the North-Eastern region.

 

The main campus of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology is coming up at Rai Bareli in Uttar Pradesh. It is only befitting that the institute is named after late Shri Rajiv Gandhi, our beloved leader and former Prime Minister of India. His contribution to modernization and development of our country was immense. He believed that the application of Science and Technology was critical to our development processes.

 

The Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum will be of world class standards and will produce technical personnel capable of serving as leaders and innovators in the fields of petroleum technology, engineering and management, covering the entire hydrocarbon value chain.

 

As is well known, oil and gas will continue to provide the major portion of our energy requirements for quite some time to come. Appropriate utilization of advanced oil and gas exploration and production technologies, modern refining technologies and efficient distribution of petroleum products to the citizens of our country will, therefore, continue to be of great importance in the coming years. All these areas will need qualified and skilled personnel in increasing numbers. The few existing institutes are not in a position to meet this increasing requirement of technical man-power in the petroleum sector. The proposed Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology is intended to reduce this gap between demand and supply of skilled personnel in the future.

 

The North-East region of India is richly endowed with hydrocarbons. During the last fiscal year, the region contributed to around 15% of the country's domestic production of crude oil and produced 3.38 billion cubic meters of natural gas. In 8 rounds of the New Exploration Licensing Policy, 25 exploration blocks covering 42,000 sq. km. have been awarded so far in the States of the North East. Of these, 15 are in Assam. So far, hydrocarbon discoveries have been made in 4 of the wells drilled in the North East. Our government has undertaken studies for assessing Shale Gas potential in the country, including in the North-East. Many areas in the North East are being assessed for Shale Gas resource mapping. It is in this background that the establishment of this Centre in Assam would be especially beneficial.

 

The UPA Government guided by the Chairperson Smt Sonia Gandhi has an enduring commitment to the development of Assam and the North East. A long cherished dream of this state in the petrochemical sector is the Assam Gas Cracker Project. I had the opportunity to lay the foundation stone of this prestigious project in April 2007 at Dibrugarh. The Government of India will make more than Rs. 5500 crore investment in this project. We are making every effort to see that the project is commissioned next year. Once completed, it will help a large number of downstream industries in the petrochemicals and plastics sector come up, thereby creating a substantial number of jobs for the local youth. This new centre of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology will help the local youth to gain the knowledge and skills to exploit the opportunities created by new projects like the Assam Gas Cracker Project and the resultant downstream industries

 

I understand that the Centre will offer programs at the certificate, diploma and degree levels in various areas of specialization in the petroleum sector. It will also offer certificate courses that have been specifically designed with a view to enable the local youth of the region to upgrade their skills in different streams. I am happy to note that the Centre will start its first academic session from September this year.

 

Let me end by wishing this Centre of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum all success. It is my wish that it will greatly benefit the local people. I also hope to see the Centre setting new standards and benchmarks for education in the petroleum sector in the years to come."