New Delhi: The The 13th edition of the international oil and gas conference, Petrotech 2019, ended with a valedictory function where UP Governor Ram Naik was present as the chief guest, along with Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan.

The concluding day saw plenary sessions, technical sessions and a buyers-sellers meet during the day. A panel of distinguished speakers and industry pioneers engaged the delegates with insightful discussions on strengthening the energy ecosystem and the way forward for the industry.

Speaking at the valedictory session, Pradhan said, "Over the three days of this conference, we have had meaningful discussions and deliberations on the challenges facing the industry and more importantly we have deliberated on the prospects and opportunities this industry offers us. I hope we all had a productive conference and my best wishes to all the participants, delegates and the organisers for making this a grand success."

While congratulating the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Naik said, "The theme of this conference, that is, shaping the new energy world through innovation and collaboration, is perfectly aligned with the government of India's focus on promoting innovation, entrepreneurship and a culture of start-ups in the country."

"The Uttar Pradesh government has cleared six biofuel projects worth Rs 1,700 crore to promote green energy initiatives in the state," he added.

At the function, lifetime awards were given in different categories to people from the industry. The lifetime achievement award in the ppstream category went to A Malhotra, former director, ONGC. In the downstream category, the lifetime achievement award was given to Arun Kumar Arora, former director, IOC. Another lifetime achievement award in the special jury category was awarded to Atul Chandra, former MD, ONGC Videsh Ltd.