en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Indian government has tasked Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) with building a new strategic petroleum reserve base and completing crude oil filling, with an estimated project investment of $1.6 billion. According to India's Economic Times, citing informed sources, the base is located in Mangalore with a designed capacity of 1.75 million metric tons, which will increase India's total strategic petroleum reserve capacity by approximately one-third upon completion.
This expansion plan stems from the Iran war and the subsequent oil supply shock—India's energy import costs have surged significantly, and domestic fuel prices have risen markedly—prompting New Delhi authorities to accelerate efforts to enhance energy security. The persistent risk of supply disruptions during the Middle East conflict has further driven the reserve buildup. Over the years, as oil consumption growth has outpaced that of China, India has been planning to expand its strategic reserve capacity.
Currently, India's three completed underground strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) bases are located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, and Mangalore and Padur, Karnataka, with a total storage capacity of 5.33 million metric tons of crude oil, equivalent to approximately 39 million barrels, meeting only about eight days of national consumption. With India's daily oil consumption at around 5 million barrels, existing reserves can only support about one week, far below the strategic reserve levels of other major oil-consuming countries, exposing the nation to significant risks in the event of sudden supply disruptions.
It remains unclear whether the new storage caverns will also be used for commercial reserve purposes. According to sources, the construction and filling of this underground storage facility may cost ONGC a total of approximately $1.6 billion.
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