ASME Signs Memorandum of Understanding with India's Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board
ASME Signs Memorandum of Understanding with India's Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board
In a step that enhances a meaningful partnership and further collaboration, ASME signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) of India on August 17, 2020. The signatories were Thomas Costabile, ASME’s Executive Director/CEO, and Vandana Sharma, PNGRB’s Secretary. Virtual attendance included officials from the Indian Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the U.S. Department of Energy; and representatives of ASME, the U.S. Energy Association, PNGRB’s technical subcommittee, and ASME’s Indian International Working Groups, among others.
Christopher Mahler, ASME Conformity Assessment Director (bottom left), and Madhukar Sharma, ASME India Director (bottom right), applaud as the signed MoU is presented by both ASME and PNGRB.
PNGRB is the Indian government’s petroleum/natural gas market, distribution, and infrastructure regulator. It was established in 2006 with the passage of the Natural Gas Regulatory Board Act in order to protect the interests of consumers and entities in these markets. In 2011, PNGRB formed an industry-led subgroup tasked with projecting the infrastructure required to develop and strengthen India’s gas sector. Two years later, this group finalized its report—“Vision 2030: Natural Gas Infrastructure in India”—which sets a goal of having natural gas constitute at least 20 percent of India’s energy market by 2030.
In February 2020, ASME Executive Director/CEO, Tom Costabile; Chief Strategy Officer, Michael Johnson; and Director of ASME India, Madhukar Sharma visited PNGRB headquarters in New Delhi. They met with the PNGRB chairman, D.K. Sarraf, to discuss ASME’s presence in India and opportunities to bolster the expanding partnership between the two organizations. Sarraf highlighted the importance of gas infrastructure development in India and emphasized the shortage in qualified personnel for engineering, construction, operations, and maintenance of city gas distribution networks.
ASME Executive Director/CEO Tom Costabile (second from right) and Chief Strategy Officer Michael Johnson (right) met with PNGRB officials in New Delhi in February 2020.
Building on this productive February meeting, the recently signed MoU highlights the importance of strengthening ASME’s presence in India, furthering the development of PNGRB’s pipeline infrastructure, and helping to create a pool of certified personnel. This joint collaboration between ASME and PNGRB seeks to:
Christopher Mahler, ASME Conformity Assessment Director (bottom left), and Madhukar Sharma, ASME India Director (bottom right), applaud as the signed MoU is presented by both ASME and PNGRB.
PNGRB is the Indian government’s petroleum/natural gas market, distribution, and infrastructure regulator. It was established in 2006 with the passage of the Natural Gas Regulatory Board Act in order to protect the interests of consumers and entities in these markets. In 2011, PNGRB formed an industry-led subgroup tasked with projecting the infrastructure required to develop and strengthen India’s gas sector. Two years later, this group finalized its report—“Vision 2030: Natural Gas Infrastructure in India”—which sets a goal of having natural gas constitute at least 20 percent of India’s energy market by 2030.
In February 2020, ASME Executive Director/CEO, Tom Costabile; Chief Strategy Officer, Michael Johnson; and Director of ASME India, Madhukar Sharma visited PNGRB headquarters in New Delhi. They met with the PNGRB chairman, D.K. Sarraf, to discuss ASME’s presence in India and opportunities to bolster the expanding partnership between the two organizations. Sarraf highlighted the importance of gas infrastructure development in India and emphasized the shortage in qualified personnel for engineering, construction, operations, and maintenance of city gas distribution networks.
ASME Executive Director/CEO Tom Costabile (second from right) and Chief Strategy Officer Michael Johnson (right) met with PNGRB officials in New Delhi in February 2020.
Building on this productive February meeting, the recently signed MoU highlights the importance of strengthening ASME’s presence in India, furthering the development of PNGRB’s pipeline infrastructure, and helping to create a pool of certified personnel. This joint collaboration between ASME and PNGRB seeks to:
- Facilitate communication between the organizations
- Avoid duplications of work efforts (where possible)
- Develop knowledge of the standards/regulations and conformity assessment systems
- Draw on ASME’s standards expertise to further standards, certification, and regulatory development for conformity assessment and inspect in the oil and gas sector in India
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