ONGC Expands India’s Strategic Oil Reserves in Mangaluru
By Business Desk
ONGC is building a 1.75 million tonnes petroleum storage facility in Mangaluru, significantly boosting India’s strategic oil reserves for enhanced energy security.
State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is constructing a new 1.75 million tonnes petroleum storage facility in Mangaluru. Half of this significant capacity will bolster India’s strategic petroleum reserves, ensuring national energy security.
The remaining portion of the facility will be dedicated to commercial operations. This crucial project is entirely funded by ONGC, highlighting the company’s direct investment in the nation’s energy infrastructure.
Mangaluru’s New Strategic Capacity
Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Suresh Gopi, confirmed these developments in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. The new Mangaluru facility adds to India’s existing strategic storage capabilities.
India, operating through the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Limited (ISPRL), has already established Phase-I Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) facilities.
- Visakhapatnam: 1.33 million tonnes
- Mangaluru: 1.5 million tonnes
- Padur, Karnataka: 2.5 million tonnes
These Phase-I facilities collectively hold a total capacity of 5.33 million tonnes.
Expanding India’s Energy Buffer
Beyond these dedicated strategic reserves, India maintains an extensive storage capacity for crude oil and refined petroleum products. This includes offshore facilities, numerous refineries, and a vast pipeline network across the country.
This comprehensive storage infrastructure is currently sufficient to meet 74 days of India’s net crude import requirement. Such a robust system provides a critical buffer against global supply disruptions.
Future Reserve Developments
The government continues to expand these capabilities, having approved two additional commercial-cum-strategic petroleum reserve facilities in July 2021. These new sites, located in Odisha and Karnataka, will add a combined total capacity of 6.5 million tonnes.
Evaluations are also ongoing for new sites to establish further Strategic Petroleum Reserves. Budgetary allocations for ISPRL cover essential aspects like operations, maintenance, strategic crude oil purchases, cavern construction, and land acquisition, with annual funding adjusted based on assessed requirements.