‘India to form crude oil reserve of 5 mmt’

Government has decided to make a strategic oil reserve of five million metric tonne (MMT) at a cost of Rs 2,400 crore to meet the demand of the oil sector and has created a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for the purpose.

“An SPV by the name of Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL) has been created as a wholly-owned subsidiary of OIDB. The ISPRL will construct crude oil storage at three locations namely Vishakhapatnam, Mangalore and Padur,” Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said on Wednesday.
The construction of the stores would require an investment of about Rs 2,400 crore, which would be funded by the OIDB, Deora said at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the new building of Oil Industry Development Board (OIDB).

Deora said that the government is also proposing to set up an educational institute for the petroleum sector. The Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology at Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh would be partially funded by OIDB and will serve the needs of petroleum sector both in India and abroad, he said.

Economic Times