3 weeks ago

India plans new strategic petroleum reserves in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh

Centre plans strategic petroleum reserves in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh · livemint.com

India needs a lot of oil to run its cars, buses, factories and machines.

But India does not have much oil of its own, so it buys nearly all of it from other countries.

That means if something goes wrong far away, India could run out of oil or have to pay much more for it.

Right now there is fighting in West Asia, which makes oil prices go up and down.

So India wants to build big underground tanks to keep extra oil safe, like a giant fuel pantry.

It already has three such storage places and is planning to add two more, in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

Lawmakers also want India to keep enough oil for 90 days, just like other rich countries do.

India currently keeps enough oil for about 77 days.

Building more storage will help India stay safe if there is ever an oil emergency.

Key facts

New proposed reserve sites: Bikaner (Rajasthan) and Bina (Madhya Pradesh)
Current strategic storage capacity: 5.3 million tonnes (elsewhere cited as 5.33 million tonnes) across Vishakhapatnam, Mangaluru and Padur
Approved expansion (2021): 6.5 million tonnes — 4 million tonnes at Chandikhol, Odisha, and 2.5 million tonnes at Padur
Oil import dependence: About 90% of India's oil requirement is imported
Crude import bill (Q1FY27): $49.8 billion, up nearly 60% year-on-year; volumes fell to about 60 million tonnes from 62.6 million tonnes
Impact of oil price rise: A $1 per barrel rise sustained for a year adds about ₹18,000 crore to India's annual import bill
Crude stock cover: India usually holds about 77 days of stocks; the IEA mandates 90 days for permanent members
Padur-II project status: Concessionaire agreement signed between ISPRL and MEIL in October last year; financial closure in progress

livemint.com · 3 weeks ago