NEW DELHI: India is looking to expand its strategic petroleum reserves with new facilities at Bina in Madhya Pradesh and Bikaner in Rajasthan, besides adding storage capacity at Mangalore, to strengthen the country’s energy security against supply disruptions.According to a parliamentary committee report, govt-owned Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL), a special purpose vehicle, has completed the feasibility study for the Bikaner caverns and is in the process of finalising it.
A pre-feasibility study for Bina has also been completed, with a detailed feasibility report to be initiated soon.This is in addition to the 1.7 million tonne (MT) storage facility being planned at Mangalore, adjacent to its existing Phase-I facility.
ISPRL has completed a feasibility study, acquired 155 acres of land and is in the process of obtaining special economic zone (SEZ) notification for 66 acres.
The facility will be built by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.India currently has strategic oil reserves of 5.3 MT, developed under Phase-I at Mangalore and Padur in Karnataka and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh to safeguard against global supply disruptions.
The capacity is estimated to meet about 9.5 days of the country’s crude oil requirement, with the reserves managed by ISPRL.The govt is also adding 6.5 MT of reserves under its Phase-II expansion plan - 2.5 MT at Padur and 4 MT at Chandikhol in Odisha.It approved the two projects in July 2021.
