India plans to build first commercial crude storage

Syllabus: GS-III; Subject: Economy; Topic: Industry and Industrial policies, Issue: Strategic petroleum reserves

Context: Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd. (ISPRL) has invited bids for constructing 2.5 million tonnes of underground storage.

Gist:

  • India plans to build its first commercial crude oil strategic storage.
  • It is part of efforts to shore up stockpiles as insurance against any supply disruption.

Strategic petroleum reserves (SPRs)

  • SPRs are essentially stockpiles of crude oil that governments maintain for price stabilisation and energy security.
  • India’s existing SPR facilities have a combined storage capacity of 5.33 million Metric Tonnes (MMT) of crude oil.
  • Storage Locations: These underground storage facilities are spread across two states:
    • Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh (1.33 MMT capacity)
    • Mangalore, Karnataka (1.5 MMT capacity)
    • Padur, Karnataka (2.5 MMT capacity)

Prelims Connect:

Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd. (ISPRL)

·        Plays a vital role in ensuring India’s energy security by storing crude oil for emergencies.

●       Established in 1998 as a special purpose vehicle under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

●       Wholly owned subsidiary of the Oil Industry Development Board (OIDB).

●       Objective: To construct and manage strategic petroleum reserves (SPRs) to mitigate the impact of global oil price fluctuations and supply disruptions.

Scroll to Top