Arun Kumar Singh, Chairman of ONGC, represented India’s Energy Maharatna at the ADIPEC 2024 Strategic Conference on November 5, where the focus was on ‘Decarbonising Operations Across Upstream, Midstream, and Downstream.’
In his address, Singh emphasized the critical importance of methane emission reduction, particularly in India, where strong domestic demand plays a key role in driving these efforts. While solar power addresses daytime energy challenges, the limitations of storage during evening hours remain a hurdle. ONGC’s immediate priority is to green its onshore facilities and reduce internal energy consumption.
Singh reaffirmed ONGC’s commitment to achieving zero methane emissions by 2030, underscoring the company’s collaboration with an international oil major to achieve this ambitious goal. “Methane must be captured, not released into the atmosphere,” Singh said, highlighting India’s competitive pricing for gas, which makes methane capture economically viable despite initial investments.
He also noted that advancements in AI and energy efficiency will help drive substantial savings, offsetting the additional computational power required. With India’s rapidly growing economy, Singh stressed the importance of balancing growth with sustainability.
At the conference, Singh was joined by other industry leaders, including Alessandro Bernini (CEO, MAIRE), Mele Kyari (Group CEO, NNPC), Bjørn Otto Sverdrup (Chair, OGCI), and Muqsit Ashraf (Group Chief Executive Strategy, Accenture), with the session moderated by John Defterios (NYU Abu Dhabi). The group discussed strategies for decarbonising operations and managing Scope 1 and 2 emissions across the energy sector, highlighting the ongoing transformation of global energy systems.
