01 July 2018, News Wires — The Indian cabinet has approved establishment of two strategic petroleum reserves (SPRs) with a total capacity of 6.5 million tonnes (mt), interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal has said.
A 4.4-mt SPR at Chandikhol in Odisha, and a 2.5-mt facility at Padur in Karnataka is on the cards. The country already has three SPRs of 5.33 mt capacity in southern India, equivalent to meet 10 days of crude requirement. The two planned SPRs will provide additional supply of about 12 days.
The country is planning to approach potential investors for operating the SPRs on public-private partnership. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has leased a part of the existing storage at Padur.
Establishment of SPRs will significantly help country’s energy security and would insulate it from external price, supply shocks.
