PCRA aims at making oil conservation a national movement. As part of its mandate, PCRA is entrusted with the task of creating awareness amongst the masses about the importance, methods and benefits of conserving petroleum products & emission reduction. To take the message to the people, PCRA uses all possible and effective media for mass communication. These include electronic and press media e. g. TV, Radio, Electronic displays; Press at the National and State level printed literature for specific target groups; outdoor publicity through Hoarding, Bus panels, Kiosks, Balloons, Banners Transliders etc.
The focus of all the messages is easy to implement and practical conservation lips for the industrial, transport, agriculture & domestic sectors. For effective communication to the target groups in semi-urban and rural areas, messages are made in regional languages. Field interactive programs like seminars, Technical meets, Consumer meets, Workshops, Clinics, van-publicity, Exhibitions, Kisan melas are conducted for dissemination of conservation messages and demonstration of conservation techniques.
To give impetus to the oil conservation movement, PCRA utilizes various platforms like the World environment day, World energy day, various festivals etc. When creative press advertisements are brought out. Over the years, PCRA has developed a number of films, TV spots and radio jingles in various languages for promoting oil conservation. PCRA also publishes quarterly a journal and a newsletter. Active Conservation Techniques (ACT), is a journal containing articles on technology by energy experts. It also brings out successful case studies leading to conservation of energy.
The conservation news is an in-house newsletter highlighting the major activities carried out by PCRA in the core sectors. For the benefit of various target groups of petroleum products, PCRA has developed literature containing simple ready to implement conservation tips and techniques. Special low cost green leaflets have also been developed to educate the masses on the ill effects of pollution caused due to incomplete combustion and its impact on health. The guiding light being “Where conservation fails pollution starts”.
In order to generate awareness among the masses about the urgency of conserving petroleum products, the celebration of oil conservat ion week with the participation of PCRA and the entire oil industry under the guidance of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas was started in year 1991. Considering the over whelming response and enthusiasm generated by OCW in the entire country, and to further increase the reach as well as effectiveness of the oil conservation campaign the duration of the program was increased to a fortnight from the year 1997 onwards.
The eco-friendliness of natural gas stands etablished beyond doubt and it is being used in progressively large volumes by Power, Fertilizer, Industrial, Commercial, Domestic and Transport sectors. As the demand is increasing, there is large scope for gas conservation. Keeping this in view, the national fortnightly conservation campaign has been renamed as “Oil & Gas Conservation Fortnight” in place of Oil Conservation Fortnight (OCF) since 2004.
During the fortnight the entire oil industry under the guidance of MOP&NG undertakes various kinds of activities to emphasize the need and importance of conservation of petroleum products & environment protection. The activities undertaken include: dissemination of oil conservation messages through out door publicity, print media, electronic media, training programs, kisan meals, technical meets & distribution of literature in national as well as vernacular languages all over the country.
The activities are carried out by the State Level Co-ordinators (SLCs) of the Oil Industry in each State under the directions of the Regional Level Coordinators (RLCs). Over the years the no. of activities undertaken during OCF has risen. In order to recognize the efforts of the executing agencies, MOP&NG has instituted awards for the best performing; State Level Coordinators (SLCs), Regional Level Coordinators (RLCs) of the oil industry and the best performing States for the activities conducted during the fortnight.
Besides this, State Transport authorities, empanelled energy auditors, industries in large, medium and small categories, who have done exemplary work in energy conservation activities, school children, teachers and their institutions are also given performance awards for the year. Petroleum has brought enumerable benefits to human civilization; quality of life and dynamic prosperity is fueled by this precious, miraculous resource. Petroleum is the lifeline of modern civilization.
It is the source of energy for agricultural, industrial and transport sectors and keeps the wheel of other essential industries moving. In fact, there is no conceivable area where energy does not play its vital role. Petroleum currently provides 90 per cent of energy used for transportation, and while its benefits are astounding, the use of petroleum-based technologies also has cost. The environmental impacts associated with extracting and transporting petroleum remain a major issue, as the extraction of petroleum can affect fragile ecosystems.
However, oil companies continue to develop new techniques and enhanced recovery methods, which reduce the footprint of drilling equipment and the amount of land affected. Perhaps the m«st serious concern, the combustion of fossil fuels contributes a variety of emissions to the atmosphere and releases carbon dioxide, a potent greenhouse gas. These emissions have modified atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, which play an important role in moderating global temperatures. Therefore, there is considerable interest in reducing our reliance on petroleum-based technologies.
At the time of independence, India produced crude oil from only one onshore field in Digboi, Assam. At that time, the country depended upon imports for international oil companies controlled 90 per cent of petroleum products and the industry. With Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd. (OIL), the production today has increased to over 34 MMTPA by technology upgradation and assimilation. During this period exploration and production activity has grown in its scope and has moved from onshore to offshore.
Natural Gas Corporation associated with oil production, which was flared at the well head in the earlier day, is now being harnessed and supplied for power generation to gas-based power plants, as raw material units including petrochemical industry. Natural gas production has risen from ‘nil’ at the time of independence to about 29 billion cubic meters during the five decades of planned economic development and it is taken to the consumer through an extensive network of 4100 kms.
Gas pipeline system Conservation Petroleum is an exhaustible resource and the industry has been conscious of this attribute. To promote efficient and economic uses of energy, Petroleum Conservation and Research Association (PCRA) has been functioning for last two decades. PCRA has done enormous work in mass awareness energy conservation in industrial, transport, and household and agriculture sectors through energy audits and studies and by continuously educating the users of petroleum products on importance and urgency of energy conservation. The task is enormous as it includes highly qualified engineers, drivers or automobiles, housewives and farmers.
