A workshop on ‘Safety, Health & Environmental Management in Hydrocarbon Industry’ was organised by the Petroleum Federation of India in association with the Lovraj Kumar Memorial Trust (LKMT) and the Department of Chemical Engineering of IIT, Roorkee from January 22-24, 2009.  The three-day workshop at IIT, Roorkee aimed to provide inputs on latest developments to teaching faculty members of technical institutions in north India on the extremely important subject of safety, health & environment in the hydrocarbon industry.

Inaugurating the workshop Prof. S. C. Saxena, Director, IIT, Roorkee stressed on the need for education and training on SHE aspects and their inclusion in the chemical engineering curricula of institutions.  He expressed the hope that the M-Tech programme in Industrial Pollution Abatement at IIT, Roorkee will help in bridging the gap in this area.

In his presidential address, Shri A. K. Arora, Director General, PetroFed and Trustee, LKMT emphasised the need for regular updation of faculty knowledge in SHE management and the need to enhance research capabilities in the area at institutes.

Shri J. B. Verma, ED, OISD in his lively and thought provoking keynote address underlined, through examples, the importance of loss prevention and safe operations in the hydrocarbon industry. He offered help in providing industrial insight to the students of IIT, Roorkee undergoing M-Tech in SHE and Hazardous Management.

The Secretary General of Petrotech Society, Shri J. L. Raina lauded the initiative of training for teaching faculty.  Participants were earlier welcomed by Prof. I. D. Mall, Head of the Department, Chemical Engineering, IIT, Roorkee while Prof. I. M. Mishra, Dean, Saharanpur Campus, IIT, Roorkee introduced the workshop.  A vote of thanks at the inaugural ceremony was proposed by Shri S. L. Das, Director (BD&C), PetroFed.

The workshop was spread over five sessions and speakers were drawn from among experts from the oil & gas industry including R&D organizations and the Oil Industry Safety Directorate besides Controller of Explosives, the Directorate General of Mines Safety, Directorate General, Factory Advice Service & Labour Institutes and process & equipment suppliers.

Faculty members from five states and union territories from north India participated in the workshop.