en.Wedoany.com Reported - India's state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has approved the development of a 1.75 million tonne strategic petroleum reserve in Mangaluru, Karnataka, marking the first time the country's largest explorer has funded the construction of strategic crude storage facilities.

In a regulatory filing on Thursday, ONGC stated that, following directives from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, its board has given in-principle approval for the Phase I expansion of the Mangaluru strategic petroleum reserve project and related facilities. The project will add 1.75 million tonnes of storage capacity to India's strategic petroleum reserve network, managed by Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL). According to government data, India currently holds 5.33 million tonnes of strategic crude storage in underground caverns at Visakhapatnam, Mangaluru, and Padur, sufficient to meet approximately 9.5 days of the country's crude oil demand based on 2019-20 consumption patterns.

The expansion comes as India strengthens its energy security, with recent geopolitical turmoil exposing the vulnerabilities of global oil supply chains. The near-complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran conflict highlighted the need for larger strategic crude inventories in import-dependent nations like India.

Mangaluru is already a key strategic petroleum storage hub for India, with ONGC subsidiary Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) operating a 300,000 barrel-per-day refinery there. Existing underground caverns have been leased to international companies, including Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), enabling India to combine strategic storage with commercial utilization.