India, the third-largest oil consumer and importer, is strategizing to establish its inaugural commercial crude oil strategic storage facility. The initiative aims to bolster reserves as a safeguard against potential supply disruptions. Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL), a government-established entity dedicated to the development and operation of strategic petroleum reserves within the nation, has issued invitations for bids to construct a 2.5 million ton underground storage facility at Padur in Karnataka.
In its initial phase, ISPRL constructed a strategic petroleum reserve within underground unlined rock caverns, with a capacity of 5.33 million tons, distributed across three locations: Visakhapatnam (1.33 million tons) in Andhra Pradesh, and Mangalore (1.5 million tons) and Padur (2.5 million tons) in Karnataka.
Under Phase-II, the plan entails the creation of a combined commercial and strategic petroleum reserve in underground unlined rock caverns, alongside requisite above-ground infrastructure, such as a dedicated Single Point Mooring (SPM) system and associated pipelines (offshore and onshore) for storing 2.5 million tons of crude oil at Padur-II, with an estimated expenditure of ₹5,514 crore. As reported by DECCAN HERALD, as India depends on imports to fulfill over eighty-five percent of its oil requirements, the strategic reserves will serve as a crucial resource during emergency scenarios, including supply disruptions or conflicts.
