Demonstrating the spirit and ethos of a responsible global corporate, ONGC Videsh observed World Environment Day 2015 on June 5 on the theme ‘Seven Billion Dreams, One Planet, Consume with Care’ by emphatically reiterating its commitment to environmental sustainability and sustainable development.
Mr. Narendra K. Verma, Managing Director, who was overseas, through his message called upon every employee to improvising further to meet society’s expectations for environmental and social performance from oil & gas sector.
Speaking on the occasion Mr. S.P. Garg, Director (Finance) & Officiating MD stressed upon the need of individual efforts by following the principle of ‘Reduce-Reuse-Recycle’ to arrest the rapid environmental decline. He stressed that the environmental drive should not be limited just for one day but should spread throughout the year in various areas like use of energy efficient equipment, use of LED in place of incandescent bulbs, using public transport, avoiding use of plastic bags, switching off equipment when not in use etc.
Mr. Anil Bhandari, Director (Exploration) explained the global climatic changes in terms of geological timeline and impact. He referred to 3D modeling of Himalayas to show the effect of global warming on the glaciers and its likely impact on the mankind. He implored all to contribute towards environment protection, whether it was through planting a sapling or reducing waste.
Mr. P.K Rao, Director (Operation) highlighted the imperatives of sound environmental practices in the E&P industry as environmental clearance norms are becoming stringent day by day. He referred to some of the best practices adopted by our projects like drilling cluster wells (even upto 20) from same well pad, using reed plantation for treating produced water etc.
World Environment Day program in progress
HSE group carried out week-long activities, which included awareness drive (mailing awareness presentations on daily basis), competitions for employees and their family members on the theme ‘Seven Billion Dreams, One Planet, Consume with Care’. An online quiz was also conducted. All these activities evoked great response, not only from those posted at HQ, but also from those posted overseas.
Informative short videos highlighting pressing environmental issues were also screened on this day. Through a brief presentation, Head HSE highlighted the theme and environmental issues being faced by oil and gas industry. Few case studies, where innovative techniques were deployed to mitigate environmental impacts in ONGC Videsh overseas operations, were shared with the jam-packed house.
EC members releasing memorabilia and giving away the prizes to the winners