India enters into MOU with top universities for R

New Delhi, Apr 20: With the country's petroleum sector perched at a critical juncture, India has marked a significant breakthrough for the Research and Development needs of the Indian petroleum industry by signing a MOU with two of the world's top universities.

With the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas along with the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH) signing a MOU with Imperial college and University of Aberdeen, both based in the UK, the move is expected to give a momentum to hydrocarbon exploration.

The technology needs of petroleum industry have been identified and the same has been matched with the capability of these two institutions, official sources said.

The Directorate General of Hydrocarbons being the signatory on behalf of the Indian hydrocarbon Industry, will help the entire Petroleum Sector of India to access the expertise available with these institutions.

Besides DGH, other important Indian Oil sector stakeholders, specifically the Indian Oil Corporation and the ONGC have also shown interest in availing of the institution's expertise in the field.

UK's oil sector especially in North Sea have been benefitted by thee contribution of academia and the R and D institutions like Imperial College and the University of Aberdeen.

DGH and the Imperial college proposes to jointly establish a steering committee to set research objectives and priorities and both will keep each other informed of the progress and results of research and development in areas of common interest.

Also, they would be involved with third parties for R and D.

UNI