- ONGC will reserve half of its 1.75 million-tonne Mangaluru storage for strategic reserves
- The proposed facility will have around 13 million barrels of crude oil storage capacity
- India currently has storage capacity for 74 days of its net crude oil import requirement
State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will reserve half of its proposed 1.75 million-tonne crude oil storage facility at Mangaluru in Karnataka for India's strategic petroleum reserves, with the balance capacity to be used for commercial purposes, the government informed Parliament.
Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, said the proposed facility will have a total storage capacity of around 13 million barrels of crude oil.
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The move comes as India steps up efforts to strengthen its emergency crude stockpiles amid rising energy security concerns.
The minister said Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) has already leased half of the existing 1.5 million-tonne strategic reserve at Mangaluru, highlighting the government's push to expand strategic storage through private sector participation.
India currently has crude oil and petroleum product storage capacity equivalent to 74 days of its net import requirement, according to the minister.
At present, the country's strategic petroleum reserves comprise 5.33 million tonnes of storage spread across Mangaluru, Padur and Visakhapatnam, and are managed by the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL).
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The government is also expanding this network. A 4 million-tonne strategic petroleum reserve is planned at Chandikhol in Odisha, while a 2.5 million-tonne expansion at Padur will be developed with private sector participation.
Suresh Gopi said land has already been acquired for the Chandikhol project, which is estimated to cost Rs 90,000 crore.
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