OREANDA-NEWS. Government of India and HPCL attaches a very high priority to conservation of petroleum products in view of the need to reduce ever increasing gap between demand for and indigenous supply of crude oil and petroleum products.

In todays mechanized and the fast- moving world, the consumption of petroleum products has become an important yardstick of a country's prosperity.

Despite the discovery of new sources of unconventional energy, petroleum remains the primary energy source in India, and also all over the world. The consumption of petroleum in India is increasing at a very steep rate - from 3.5 Million metric Tonnes (MMT) in 1950-51 to 157 MMT in 2012-13.

Out of the known reserves, only a part may be technically economically feasible to explore. This fact, coupled with the present and expected consumption rates implies that these reserves may not last beyond the next 30 years.

For India, the situation is even more difficult. Given our limited reserves, our present known stocks may not last much longer. Our present indigenous production is only about 38 MMT which is less than 25% of our annual requirement. Further, the high crude oil prices in the internationl markets cause a huge drain of India's foreign exchange affecting the national economy.

Therefore, the need of the hour is to conserve petroleum by its judicious use, substituting it by other resources wherever feasible and restricting its use only to the essential needs.

Petroleum Conservation, then becomes our joint responsibility be it industries, individual citizens, organisations, Oil Companies or the Government. Each one of us has specific and significant roles to play.

In this regard, the Government of India is observing Mega Campaign on Petroleum Conservation from 1st October 2013 for 6 weeks. View Message of Dr. Veerappa Moily, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Smt. Panabaaka Lakshmi, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas on the commencement of the conservation campaign.

Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) is the organisation whose mandate is to create awareness and make Petroleum Conservation a National movement. Click on the following links to view conservation messages and methods of Petroleum Conservation on the PCRA website.