A galaxy of ONGCians, past and present are attending the 3rd Workshop and Field Expedition (Spiti Valley),organised by the Association of Petroleum Geologists (APG) which commenced in the salubrious environs of Manali on July 22,2006. The Field Expedition, regularly held by APG, was dovetailed as a part of ONGC's Golden Jubilee celebrations.

The objective of holding this workshop was to introduce to the participants the importance of field geology in hydrocarbon exploration. Eminent faculty comprising Dr O.N.Bhargava, Dr N.S.Virdhi, Dr D.S.N.Raju, and Mr Dilip Mukhopadhyay were introduced to the House. A presentation on "Role of Field Geology" was made on the occasion. This presentation highlighted the stages of field geological evolution in ONGC. Among the distinguished personalities who graced the dais were Mr S.N.Talukdar, the doyen of the petroleum industry, besides veteran geoscientists, Mr C.K.R Sastry, Mr D.N Awasthi , Mr Jokhan Ram, Executive Director-Chief KDMIPE, and Mr Ashok Srivastava, Basin Manager, Frontier Basins.

The message of Mr D.K.Pande, Director (Exploration) and the Patron of APG, who could not be present as he was abroad, was read out by Mr Jokhan Ram. The thought provoking message among other pertinent observations stressed on immediate attention to Frontier Basins through insight into the intriguing Himalayas.

In his address, Mr S.N. Talukdar,former Member (Exploration), asserted that field work is the best and only way to come to the understanding of the hydrocarbon habitat. That sieismic, electrologs and even the cores alone do not allow to understand as to what actually occurs in the field. He emphasized the need to generate more data on paleoslopes,. paleo- latitudes and the influence on tectonic plates. He called for interaction of the old and the young which can inject enthusiasm among the younger generation. 

Mr D.N. Awasthi, former Member (Personnel), in his address deliberated on deeper crustal processes. He stressed that science is evolutionary and earlier works should be taken as a foundation to arrive at newer hypotheses. He deliberated on continental continental collisions. He hoped that the new hypothesis might turn lean areas of hydrocarbon into areas of high hydrocarbon potential. He enumerated Mr Malaviya's three "mool mantras" - controlled imagination, cautious optimism and calculated risk.

Mr C.K.R. Sastry, former Head Western Region, in his interesting address, said the grand hunt for large structural accumulations are over. He therefore advocated that in the present scenario the practical and pragmatic approach should be to have foreign tie-ups. In fact this was the same philosophy which was adopted by Mr Subir Raha, former C&MD. 

Mr Jokhan Ram, Executive Director-Chief KDMIPE and Vice President APG, in his welcome address, spoke on the evolution of the thought process with time and the tremendous possibilities existing in sequence stratigraphic analysis . He pointed out that wisdom cannot be always managed through technology and needs to be shared and passed on .He stressed the need for outcrop teaching to the young scientists He reiterated APG's resolve to arrest the declining trend towards field geology.

Mr Ashok Srivastava,Basin Manager, Frontier Basins expressed concern about the scenario in respect of new finds in the Frontier Basins. He expressed hope that this workshop and field expedition will positively contribute towards new ideas and models of exploration. He said APG is a potential medium which could provide the much needed boost to exploration.

Dr James Peters, General Manager (Geology) and Secretary AGP proposed the vote of thanks and adroitly anchored the programme.

An eye catching exhibition depicting the role of field parties in ONGC and the different basins, was also arranged alongside the Workshop which Mr Talukdar inaugurated.

The Workshop will provide an ideal platform for meaningful interaction between the veteran ONGCians and serving ONGC geoscientists.

APG provides an opportunity for petroleum geologists to share their experiences, ideas, thoughts to benefit the oil industry especially in the field of exploration and production. 

The team headed by Dr James Peters, General Manager (Geology) was instrumental in successfully organizing this programme. The other team members included Mr D.S.Mitra, Mr S.Uppal, ,Mr Rajeev Bhoj, Mr Bijay Prasad, Mr Virender Mishra, Mr Ravi Mishra, Mr D.P.Goyal and Mr Ajay Pal.

Approximately 45 participants proceeded for field work on July 24, 2006 for four days to the high altitude Spiti valley. This team includes some retired geologists of ONGC.

Led by Dr James Peters, General Manager ONGC & Secretary APG the team comprised participants from ONGC, Reliance Industries Ltd and ENI, Milan, Italy, two superannuated Geologists from the ONGC two research scholars from IIT Mumbai and three M.Sc. students from IIT Roorkee. The faculty for field work included Dr ON Bhargava Director GSI (Retd) and Prof Dilip Mukhopadhaya from IIT, Roorkee. The participants were given an overview of the Geology of Spiti Valley. Four sections were visited. The section between Muth Village and Domal Village exposes the entire Stratigraphy of the Spiti Basin.
   

After covering all the different formations in the Spiti valley the team returned to Manali for the Valedictory Function which was chaired by Mr MK Rangaraju , Ex Group General Manager, ONGC.