Shell opens large technology centre in Bengaluru

Reinforcing its commitment to India, Shell on Friday inaugurated its new technology centre in the city and said that it will have a total employee base of 7,000.

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan, who inaugurated the centre, said that India has an opportunity to make significant contribution to the world’s incremental energy need in the years ahead, and the centre is one of the steps in that direction.

“Shell is developing a waste-to-fuel technology called IH2 at the technology centre in Bengaluru that takes only a few minutes to achieve what nature requires a million years to do. This technology can be one of the game changers that can make the country a net exporter of energy,” he said.

The technology centre, spread over a 52-acre campus, can house up to 1,500 experts, who would collaboratively work on worldwide innovative energy projects. It is one of the three main technology hubs in Shell’s global network of R&D centres, with the other two located in the Netherlands and the US.

Besides housing a variety of technical experts, laboratories and technology demonstration units, the centre will undertake collaborative research in fields such as liquefied natural gas, subsurface modelling, data analysis, engineering design, bitumen, distillation, water technology and enhanced computational research along with other global centres.
Speaking at the event, Shell Projects & Technology Director Harry Brekelmans said innovation and technology are vital in providing more and cleaner energy solutions for a growing world population. Brekelmans said the centre is looking at collaboration across different disciplines for timely development and deployment of the best and affordable energy solutions.

Shell India Chairman Nitin Prasad said India opens up large opportunity as the country is going through unprecedented transformations. He said the company employs 3,000 people in Chennai. “We have an IT centre in Bengaluru where currently 1,500 people are working. The technology centre houses 1,000 people. Shell India will have a total of around 7,000 employees by the end of this year,” he said.

The company also plans to increase its fuel stations from the current 84, to 1,500 within 10 years.
Karnataka Minister for Industries R V Deshpande and Ambassador of Netherlands to India Alphonsus Stoelinga also participated in the event.

Petroleum products will be under GST regime

Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said there is no game plan to keep petroleum products out of the GST regime. Interacting with reporters at the inauguration of Shell Technology Centre here, he said all the commodities should come under the GST regime. “Earlier, the Centre and state governments took a decision on taxes. Now, the GST Council has been constituted to look into this and will reach a consensus on which commodities are to be brought under its frame work,” he said.