I am extremely glad to note that 7^th edition of the Global Refining & Petrochemicals Congress is being organized on 29^th & 30^th June 2023. I would like to commend the efforts of the organizer, the Energy & Climate Initiatives Society, for bringing together such a distinguished group of speakers and participants for this event.

The theme of this year’s congress is “Future Downstream – Innovative, Resilient & Sustainable”. This theme reflects the challenges and opportunities that our industry faces in a rapidly changing world. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the global refining market, affecting supply and demand patterns, margins and profitability, and investment decisions. At the same time, we are also witnessing a growing momentum for the energy transition, driven by technological advances, evolving regulations, and increasing concerns about climate change. These trends have implications for our product mix, operational efficiency, environmental performance, and social responsibility.

India seems to be the place to be for Petrochemical industry as it continues to have a strong domestic demand for the foreseeable future that it needs at least one world-scale cracker every year. The Refineries and Petrochemical units of the future will look a lot different than how it is today. We would see more integration of refinery and petrochemical units, more use of renewable and alternative feeds, more digitalization and automation and more sustainability and circularity.

Going forward, the refineries will aid the transition to a low-carbon economy by adopting renewable and alternative feedstocks such as biomass, waste plastic, biofuels and hydrogen. We need to invest in and enhance the capability of waste collection so that there is ample and economic availability of plastic waste feedstock to aid this transition. There needs to be greater investment in R&D into advanced chemical recycling techniques and commercializing the technology to make circular economy a reality. Industry and policymakers need to find solutions to the challenges associated with biomass such as availability, quality and logistics of biomass supply.

As leaders of the Refining and petrochemical Industry, we have a responsibility to adapt to these changes and shape the future of our sector. We need to embrace innovation, enhance resilience, and pursue sustainability in our business strategies.

I encourage you to take advantage of the rich agenda of keynote speeches, panel discussions, technical sessions, and networking events that this congress offers. I hope that congress attendees will find this event informative, inspiring, and enjoyable.

I wish a successful and fruitful conference.