India’s strategic crude oil reserves will be full by mid-May, petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan told Daniel Yergin, vice-chairman, IHS Markit.
India, the world’s third largest crude oil importer, has a storage capacity of 5.3 million tonnes (mt) — 1.33 mt at Visakhapatnam, 1.5 mt in Mangaluru and 2.5 mt at Padur — , which can support 9.5 days of net imports. Besides, the government has approved the construction of an additional 6.5 mt of storage—4 mt at Chandikhol, Odisha, and another 2.5 mt in Padur, Karnataka.
“India has 5.3 million metric tonnes of strategic storage capacity. By mid-May it will be full. Besides, our companies have 7 million mt of floating oil in their contracts. We have purchased them,” he added.
