A bunch of excited and enthusiastic students accompanied by our faculty Dr.Rajat Aggarwal and Dr.Zillur Rahman started off from IIT Roorkee in two buses to ONGC Academy, Dehradun. We were received by Dr.R.K.Mishra and Mr. Monu Bhatnagar, Superintending Chemist and EA to Head ONGC Academy. We were offered tea to freshen ourselves after a two and half hour journey by bus.
We were then addressed by Dr.Tarun Chakraborti, Head, ONGC Academy at Nehru Auditorium. He gave us insights into upstream oil industry, the major concern of ONGC and the challenges faced by the industry. Upstream oil industry is basically concerned with exploration, drilling and production of oil. He started off with the milestones achieved by ONGC and also stated that ONGC is currently ranked as No.1 company in Exploration and Production in the world. He gave us an overview of the industrial processes and exploration techniques employed by upstream Oil industry. A comprehensive picture of Sagar Samrat, the offshore station at Bombay High was presented to us. He also put light on the risks and hazards faced by the officers and scientists in oil industry. He also gave details on the HR practices being followed by ONGC and the leadership development program employed by ONGC. He spoke in detail on the challenges faced in Human Resource Management and the factors that influence human resources. He then came up with measures on how these challenges are met. He stressed on Industry academia interface for promoting the awareness on importance of petroleum sector. His presentation was followed by a Q&A session which satisfied our curiosity about the petroleum industry.
We were then directed to a delicious lunch at the executive canteen. We were really overwhelmed by the hospitality and professionalism of ONGC employees. It wasn’t just an academic learning for us but it was also a lesson on the corporate behaviour and practices.
Post lunch we were guided to ONGC museum at Tel Bhawan, Dehradun. This visit was enlightening as well as we were guided through various models that demonstrated oil extraction and a series of photographs that depicted the milestones achieved by ONGC and oil industry in India. We were also demonstrated different types of crude oil extracted from various parts of the country and the differences in their viscosity. We were told that oil extracted from Ankleshwar, Gujarat was best in the country in terms of quality. Also on display were fossilized bones of a dinosaur named Saurapod and a mammoth which were found by the exploration teams of ONGC. The museum tour concluded with a short documentary on the life of a normal ONGCian.
As our day ended fruitfully at Dehradun, we hit the road again to make it back to our campus, our beloved IIT Roorkee.