The Indian Institute of Petroleum, established in 1960, is one of the constituent laboratories of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, dedicated to R&D in the hydrocarbon sector. The Director General of CSIR based in Delhi, Shekhar Mande, is the head of institute followed by Dr. Anjan Ray, who has been the Director of the institute since November 2016. Spread over a campus of, it is situated in Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand state, on National Highway 72. Established through an act of parliament in the year 1959, it started in New Delhi in 1960 and finally in Dehradun since 1963. It sought organisational help from Institut français du pétrole, France, a petroleum research organisation, under UNESCO programme during 1960 to 1964. An ISO 9001 certified institute, IIP develops processes and products for petroleum refining and petrochemical industries, training of personnel in oil and petrochemical industries, and assisting in formulation of standards for petroleum products. The institute acquired the ISO 9001 certification in 1998. About 132 of its research staff are R&D scientists supported by 208 technical personnel. It is equipped with R&D facilities including pilot plants. The annual budget of the institute is around 25 crores. The institute is recognized by over 14 universities to conduct research leading to Doctorate degree.
Objectives
Development of processes for petroleum refining/petro chemicals/petroleum products,
Application assistance to refineries in selection, and adoption of technologies and optimization of their unit operations,
Evaluation of crudes and petroleum products,
Technical services,
Conduct techno-economic feasibility studies and market demand surveys of petroleum products,
Train personnel of oil/petrochemical industry,
Assistance to BIS in formulating standards for petroleum products.
Research programs
Applied research leading to the development of technologies, products and processes in the area of Petroleum refining, Petrochemicals, Speciality chemicals, IC engines, and Combustion.
Production of benzene/toluene through sulpholane extraction 1985.
Achievements
Thirty eight technologies having licensed capacity around 25 million tonnes per annum have been transferred to the industry. Almost every refinery in the country has technologies licensed by the institute. Test techniques have been developed for evaluation of petroleum products included in BIS specifications. Global tie-ups have been established for contract research and technical services.
IIP has filed 185 patents in India and 29 patents abroad. PhD degrees have been awarded to about fifty research fellows and scientists of the institute by universities.
