New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has received in-principle approval from its Board of Directors to develop a 1.75 million metric tonne (MMT) Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) at Mangaluru as a project of national importance, in line with directives from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG).

The proposed facility will be developed as the Phase-I extension of the Mangaluru Strategic Petroleum Reserve and will include associated infrastructure, ONGC said in a regulatory filing.

In addition, the Board directed the company to take up with the government the issue of broadening commercial utilisation opportunities for the strategic petroleum reserve, along with the necessary regulatory support.

According to an analysis by Khaleej Times, India is stepping up efforts to strengthen its strategic petroleum reserves and diversify energy cooperation after the disruption caused by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran conflict, through which nearly one-fifth of the world’s energy supplies pass.

The report noted that India already permits commercial utilisation of a portion of its strategic crude storage facilities at Mangaluru, Padur and Visakhapatnam, which together have a storage capacity of 5.33 million metric tonnes (MMT).

These facilities are managed by the government-owned Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd.

It added that Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) — an ONGC subsidiary — operates a 300,000 barrels-per-day refinery in Mangaluru.

Half of the existing 1.5 MMT strategic petroleum reserve at Mangaluru has been leased to MRPL, while the remaining capacity is leased to Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).

The analysis further said that during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UAE earlier this year, ADNOC announced plans to expand its crude oil storage in India to as much as 30 million barrels and also explore crude storage at Fujairah as part of India’s strategic reserve programme.

According to the report, India is also planning to build an additional 4 MMT strategic petroleum reserve at Chandikhol in Odisha and a new 2.5 MMT facility at Padur in Karnataka. ONGC has not disclosed the estimated cost or timeline for the proposed 1.75 MMT strategic petroleum reserve expansion at Mangaluru.

–IANS

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