12-08-2021 | 16:19 PM
New Strategic Oil Reserves
• In accordance with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) programme, the government approved the establishment of two additional commercial and strategic underground storage facilities at Chandikhol (4 MMT) and Padur (2.5 MMT) in PPP model.
Key Highlights:
• In the first phase of the SPR programme, the government, through its special tool India Strategic Petroleum Reserve Limited (ISPRL), established oil storage facilities with a total capacity of 5.33 million metric tons (MMT) in 3 locations. All the three storage facilities in Visakhapatnam (1.33 MMT), Mangaluru (1.5 MMT) and Padur (2.5 MMT) are filled with crude oil.
• The petroleum reserves which were established in the first phase are of strategic importance, and the crude oil stored in these reserves will be used in the scenario of oil shortage.
About Strategic petroleum reserves:
• Strategic petroleum reserves are essentially huge stockpiles of crude oil to keep the wheels of the country running in crunch situations.
• This is because the government has to stay prepared with emergency stores of crude oil to tide over severe supply shocks of this critical fuel.
• Many major global oil consumers such as the US, China and Japan have built massive strategic reserves of oil over the years, and India too embarked on the path in the last decade.
India’s Plan on Strategic Petroleum reserve:
• Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd, has constructed three strategic petroleum reserves in huge underground rock caverns at Visakhapatnam on the East Coast, and at Mangalore and Padur on the West Coast.
• These facilities, with a total capacity of 5.33 million tonnes, can meet about 10 days of India’s crude oil requirements.
• The new facilities approved recently can provide additional supply for about 12 days.
