It is situated in Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand state, on National Highway no. 72.Established through an act of parliament in the year 1959, it started functioning initially at New Delhi in 1960 and finally at Dehradun since 1963. In pursuit of excellence it sought initial organisational help from Institut français du pétrole (IFP), France, the world renowned petroleum research organisation, under UNESCO programme during 1960 to 1964. An ISO 9001 certified Institute, it is devoted to multidisciplinary areas of Research and Development in the down stream sector of hydrocarbon and related industry . The acquirement of ISO-9001 certification by the institute in 1998 is a step forward. It has dedicated, experienced and qualified staff out of which 132 are R&D Scientists supported by 208 highly skilled technical personnel. It is equipped with comprehensive state-of-the-art R&D facilities including pilot plants. Annual budget of the Institute, currently, is around 18 crores.Institute is recognised by many Universities to conduct research leading to Doctorate degree.

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