Efforts on to procure gas for Ratnagiri power plant

Mumbai, Nov 10: Petroleum Minister Murli Deora today said that efforts were on at the higest level with several countries to procure gas for the Ratnagiri Gas and Power Project Ltd (RGPPL) at Dabhol in Konkan region.

Talking to reporters here, Mr Deora said his ministry was also in process to set up more LNG terminals at the plant.

Earlier, speaking at a presentation ceremony of Oil Industry Safety awards here, he said as per statistics available for oil and gas industry in Public sector, 58 accidents and 21 major fires have taken place in 2005-06. In the current year till date, the trend is 16 accidents and 10 major fire incidents.

Though the number has come down, the severity of a few incidents were high and the opportunity loss was also high in present times of high crude oil prices.

Stating that such incidents were a matter of concern, Mr Deora said predominant reasons include equipment failure, non-adherence to laid down procedures and lack of supervision.

The minister said there was no substitute to continuous upgradation of knowledge on associated hazards through refresher training to all workmen involved in operation and maintenance area.

Strong safety culture is built through a strong corporate policy where much importance is attached to the spirit and development of attitudes of individuals involved, which is crucial for its succes, he added.

Mr Deora said safety objectives are not limited to numerical targets but must also cover all activities of business aiming to improve the overall productivity of the organisation with due involvement of all employees.

Safety responsibilities at individual levels need to be clearly defined and understood. As safety commitments need to be highly visible, safety efforts of individuals should be valued by the organisation. The strength of an organisation evolves from a strong safety culture and building up of safety culture is all about human attitudes and responses on which safety largely relies, he added.

He felt safety experiences and learning from incidents must be institutionalised for the benefit of industry professionals.

In the refinery category, IOCL Guwahati Refinery and Numaligarh Refinery ltd were among the winners. IBP bagged the best performer award in POL Marketing organisation, BPCL won in the LPG Marketing organisation.

In Oil and Gas assets, Rajasthan asset of Oil India Ltd was awarded. In Cross Country Pipelines, GAIL-HVJ pipeline bagged the best performer award. Hazira Gas Processing Plant of ONGC bagged the award under 'other processing organisation' category. HPCL was the winner in 'Lube Oil Blending' category.

UNI