Low Carbon Cruise Flagged off by Union Petroleum Minister on Mahabahu Brahmaputra

India Energy Week 2023 is going to be hosted in Bengaluru from 6th to 8th February 2023. The Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India Hardeep S. Puri inaugurated the demo run of an Inland Water Vessel powered by Methanol blended Diesel (MD15).

The Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Labour, and Employment, Government of India Rameswar Teki was also present during the inaugural ceremony.

Low Carbon Cruise Flagged off by Union Petroleum Minister on Mahabahu Brahmaputra – Key Points

• The boat ride was done on a 50-seater motor launch marine vessel named ‘SB Gangadhar’.
• The marine vessel is equipped with two Ruston make diesel engines (each engine of 105 hp). The boat will be run on MD-15 (15% methanol blended HSD).
• Methanol is a low-carbon hydrogen carrier fuel that is produced from high-ash coal, agricultural residue, CO2 from thermal power plants, and natural gas. It is the best pathway for meeting India’s commitment to COP 21.
• It is slightly lower in energy content than petrol and diesel, methanol can replace both these fuels in the transport sector, the energy sector, and retail cooking.
• The Minister informed that in Assam, Assam Petrochemical Limited (APL), Namrup currently produces about 100 TPD of Methanol and is implementing a new project for the production of 500 TPD of Methanol.
• He further added that work is in progress to set up Coal-to-Methanol plants in the country using indigenous technology, which is being developed by BHEL (Hyderabad and Trichy), Thermax, and IIT Delhi.
• NITI Aayog’s ‘Methanol Economy’ program is aimed at reducing India’s oil import bill, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and converting coal reserves and municipal solid waste into methanol.

About India Energy Week 2023

India Energy Week 2023 is the first major event under India’s G20 Presidency, which follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pledge at COP26 to cut India’s emissions to net zero by 2070. India Energy Week is being held under the patronage of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India.

The only all-encompassing international energy event supported at the highest level of the Indian government, with participation from all the Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), and officially supported by the Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry (FIPI).